


A hui hou kakouf

by dedleg



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-02-22
Updated: 2011-02-21
Packaged: 2017-10-15 20:53:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/164841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dedleg/pseuds/dedleg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Forewarning, this series is going to go everywhere, drama, and different settings. seriously this is def an a/u. PLEASE R&R (readnreview) I need all the feedback I can get! I've never really written a work this serious or on this scale (yea... look at my LJ and it's all porn.) Yea... you can tell I don't like Catherine. Therefore I have antagonized here wahahaha. who you finna try now bitch!? Thanks for reading!</p><p>A hui hou kakou: until we meet again</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fainting Spells

At H50 HQ,

“No, no no. NO! OUT NOW!” Danny is literally shoving Steve back out into the blazing sunlight.

“I’m FINE Danny!”

“No! You told me you fainted again yesterday! I do NOT want to take you to the hospital again, I don’t wanna!” shaking a finger out at Steve.

“Go home STEVE!” With the last word Danny throws all his might into a full body check. Steve side steps and watches a blond blur yelp past him and enters the office.

Steve stops in his tracks and sees Chin folding his arms and staring right at him.

“I heard you fainted. Again.”

“Yea,” Steve grudgingly admits, he can handle Danny, but Chin-Ho Kelly was a different story. It was a good thing they rarely ever disagreed, even about Steve’s well being/self preservation, because we was more like a mentor than an employee, the link between his father’s paternal governing eye, trusted opinion and the group’s voice of reason.

“If a man faints on the job, I think it merits another doctor’s appointment. The doc told you to chill out after you lost all that blood. Your shot wound didn’t even heal all the way. Take another week of rest, half minimum.” Chin grins and pats Steve on the shoulder turning him around to the door.

“Damn it all.” Steve grunts and drags his feet out of the office. He uses his hand as a visor to block the bright Hawaii sun and hears Danny’s apologizing voice out the door.

 _“Shit_ -sorry ‘shoot’, cop mouth forgive me. I am _so_ sorry ma’am. Um here, let me pick these up for you.”

Steve cracks a smile when he sees the catastrophe in front of him. Danny had body checked the _pizza delivery girl._ There was a bloody mess of pizza, tomato sauce, and boxes all over the office’s main entrance. Danny had red splashes and messy triangles of pizza plastered all over his body and apologetically bent over grabbing the pizza delivery bags.

“Shoot, again I am so sorry. I was trying to get my partner. Here are your bags, and here take another ten,”

The girl was blushing madly and shook her head refusing the third tip Danny was shoving at her.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Receipt.” Was all the blushing delivery girl could mutter. Before Danny could take it from her trembling hand, she took it back and scribbled something on it, shoved back into Danny’s hand with one of the twenty’s he’d tipped her, and sprinted to the car ponytail and bits of pineapple flying everywhere.

“What? What’s this?” Danny uncrumples the red stained receipt.

Steve looks down over Danny’s shoulder behind him and picks up the fragment of pineapple pizza on his shoulder and before taking a bite concludes, “It’s her number, Danno. Careful now, don’t want to bring statutory charges into this office while I’m gone~. ” Danny yelps when Steve slaps his ass on the way to where he had parked his truck.

“You are one sick fuck. I’d never. I have a DAUGHTER!”

Steve throws him a wink from the driver’s seat and peals out of into traffic. In the car he sighs thinking of the possibility of even Danny getting laid and concludes,  “guess I should call Cat.”

=

Like clockwork, Catherine arrives for her two month booty call in stilettos and rip away-able dress.

Smashing faces together up the stairs Steve barely gets out the words, “Hmm, strenuous physical activites? I don’t think my partner would like that at all.” Steve reaches in for another hungry kiss but Catherine backs out,

“Really? Danny? Now? Wow, I knew you two were joined at the hip, but Steve, even I have been faithful enough to not bring other men into this.” She laughs and drags him into the bed and starts to put the panky in hanky-panky.

Halfway through sweaty screaming sex Steve goes wide eyed, rolls his eyes to the back of his skull, and unromantically falls backwards off the bed cracking the side of his head on the night stand on the way down.

Catherine sticks around till he comes to, bandages him up, and despite Steve’s pleading leaves afterwards.

That morning at work Danny waltzes over to Steve’s desk with a packet of papers and smiles.

“That’s one way to fight acne.” Danny points to the blood stained band aid on Steve’s head.

Steve glares up at Danny with those eyes he uses when he is about to kill.

 “You are worse than Cat.” Steve grumbled over the transfer of papers.

“Oh-ho. Catherine was in town.” Steve quickly averts his eyes to the papers biting his lip.

“Wait- PLEASE don’t tell me she was with you last night.”

Steve bites his lip harder and stares a hole into the paper.

“OH SHE WAS!! Is that how you got that-No way. Don’t tell me you fainted during-OH MY GOD!” Danny doubles over in laughter clinging to the desk to hold him up.

Steve wonders how far cop dogs could smell underground and where the nearest home depot was.

 

=

Later that evening:

Catherin sweeps into the dimly lit bar devoid of people except an elderly bartender with an eyepatch. She crosses her legs irritated, biting her glossed lips and checking her phone for the time every four seconds.

 “A girl like you should never be in a bar likethis, especially when dressed so fine, Lt. Rollins.” She nearly jumps out of her skin when she hears the old man grunt, “Don’t face me, pick up your phone.”

Catherine knew the drill she picked up her phone and spoke out into the silent room, “Admiral Pepper, you are not to startle me in such a manner again!” Civilians would find the Admiral’s last name comical, but Catherine knew better, hell the whole military world knew better. Three time war hero, rose above the ranks, deeply rooted military family, all the bells and whistles… and guns.

“ You should have immediately identified your disguised self when the bar emptied instead of making me wait half an hour!” Her voice was cold, direct, and sinister.

“And miss the view?” the elderly man peered with his good eye and gave Lt. Rollins a once over. “How is our little ‘development’ coming along?”

“He is stable, to say the least. He did faint during coitus, mentioned his partner during foreplay multiple times. Must I continue to see him? We have already established his… situation.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. You must at least admit, even with your intel on our little pet, that you do enjoy that one portion of your mission. The cameras tell all, Lt. Rollins.” A cold green iris stabs her back, “What was it? ‘I want you to split me in half Steve?’ If you were not truly enjoying your little ‘role’ then that was some mighty powerful acting.”

“You are disgusting Admiral.” Her voice was colder than ever.

“Even an old man, is still a man Catherine.” Though his voice jests, his eye is constantly borders a murderous gaze on all it passes.

At the mention of her first name, Catherine slams her phone down onto the desk forgoing all cover and looks Pepper back into the eyes with a similar murderous stare. “When I defected to you, Admiral Great _Uncle_ , I had thought you would be focused more on the mission at hand, not your great niece’s sexual escapades.” Her eyes blazed ferociously.

“Temper, temper, _temper._ Yes. The mission at hand. We only have a short while. The CIA has already sent sniffing dogs around the top heads to find the ones responsible for the incident in North Korea. I have received information that diplomats from their country and ours are to meet soon in an undisclosed location to deter terrorists from solidifying peace.”

  

  1. “Terrorists like you and me.”                                                                             
  



“Do not use that _word._ We are patriots; this deal will ruin everything this nation stands for. Those Koreans deserve to be nuked for all they did back in the war.” The veins around his buzzed hair were popped into contrast. “You will continue to ‘monitor’ our toy soldier and resume your duties with the navy to avoid suspicion.”

“Am I reduced to mere babysitting?” Catherine’s voice was as cold as ice, “We have already established and confirmed his orientation, he is _inferior_.”

“You are tiring me, young woman, with your inability to grasp the importance of your role, regardless of how small it may seem. You, my silly child, are the key. You are to keep him _instable._ Fog his judgment in military affairs. Your ‘interactions’ you think are foolish, drive his inner guilt and sense of the need to overcompensate by grinding up against young tight women as yourself. His, as you say, ‘inferiority’ is what makes him nearly perfectly malleable in every way and thus our most valuable asset. Aslo, I did not know you were a bigot Catherine, especially after they have already repealed so many laws about this subject.”

“I- But- I am not a bigot sir!” Catherine gasped indignantly.

“You _will_ return to him in the next two months, and make sure to keep his mind occupied. Do not lose him, do not push him, keep him in the working order he is in. You are dismissed.”

“But-“

“You are dismissed lieutenant.”

=

Steve begins to nod off during Danny’s intelligence recaps. He had been having _those_ dreams again. The ones he got when he was younger, the ones his father told him to suppress, the one’s he’s been hiding. The once primal urges from his gut during his dreams started to take over and materialize. Faceless lusting women….. and men. _Men._ Without the mentoring of his father, Steve had no way to deal with the demons inside him besides not sleeping. He had been staying up all week until he became so tired that he would plunge straight into completely empty dreams.

He had no one to turn to, not Chin, no matter how paternal and friendly their relationship was he would not drag Chin into this.

Not his partner. Not Danny. Can’t tell him. Never. He was close enough to Danny, he did not want to ruin his relationship with one of his best friends with his… his _abomination_. His disgusting urges, his sick need for pleasure. Never, he would never, ever make Danny even suspect him of his shameful longings. He would take this secret to his grave.

=

“I am his partner.” Danny sighs rubbing a flat palm to his forehead.

“Oh, um.” The doctor raises and eyebrow up from his clipboard, completely caught off guard and fumbles to fill in the awkward silence he has dug for himself, “Um. I mean yes, good for you.”

“Good for you-good for you? Wow that’s a first time I’ve heard _that_ response.” Danny is now trying to rip his face off with his palm when he slides it down across his face. “Ima cop, and so is he. Partner, say it with me paartneerr” Danny is using his mock teaching voice and mutters under his breath, “Six figures a year for this? _This_ passed through med school?”

Hearing this, the doctor changed his tone and cut to the chase, “Detective, what is it, Detective Williams, what is it that you want exactly? “

“Fix him.” Danny takes a hand off his hip and points at the man carelessly thrown onto a chair in the lobby previously hidden from view from the counter, the counter separating Danny from mauling the doctor. Danny had caused quite a stir entering the hospital and throwing a six foot one man off his straining shoulder (short men should never have to carry giants) onto the row of chairs with as much care one would with a sack of potatoes, and to Danny that was all he was carrying, a man with potatoes for brains.

“Is there something the matter with your partner?” The doctor asked bored over the clip board.

“I think he has a case of limp noodle syndrome.” Danny was now about to punch a hole through the man’s chest. “No, I was picking him up from work and I found him on the beach passed out. He’s been recently shot and was drained of a large amount of blood, and to help his body accept the large amounts of blood from a blood bank he was given medication. The medication stressed the fact for no _strenuous_ physical activity.” Danny looked back down at Steve’s unconscious body, grabs a lollipop off the counter and throws it across the room bouncing it off Steve’s unconscious head.

As if on cue Steve jerks awake so fast he flails out of the chairs. “AHH!! Where am I?!”

Danny, despite his the murderous fantasies he’s been recently playing through his mind, couldn’t help but laugh at Steve falling to the floor, eyes wide and mouth screwed shut. “This is the fourth time I’ve had to bring him a hospital, he had the brilliance to do a Navy grade swim outside our office and fainted promptly after reaching shore.” Danny frown sharpens, “I was lucky to find him this time, I would have just dumped him at the hospital near his house, because they’re already now on first name basis due to frequent visits, but I didn’t want to waste time in case something happened while he was out.  It’s getting really old now.”

Turning over to face Steve, “Sleeping beauty! Thank god! I thought the tea would get cold before you woke!” He strides over to Steve and helps him up. He sets him straight into a chair and gets down on a knee and looks straight up into his partner’s eyes and holds his chin his head darting side to side examining Steve’s face for injuries.

“Hey you,” He says softly,

’ _too softly’_ Steve feels a little heat crawl into his face.

“Hey you, does your head hurt?,” Danny’s gentle paternal voice continues. Steve is definitely burning in the face, ‘ _What a sick dream’_ Steve wonders.

“Naw I’m fine,” Steve chuckles dumbly.

“Good~” Danny grins tilting his head to the side, eyes crinkling creases etched into his face. But-

But something is wrong with this image, his eyes, they’re dark, scary-

 **THWAAAK!!**

People let out a little scream in the calm waiting room when Danny nearly splits Steve’s jaw in two with his fist. Steve is sent flying off the chair to the floor again. Danny stands up triumphantly and rubs his knuckles.

“You bastard! You ask me if my head hurts then you punch it?!!”  Steve shot back up rubbing his swelling face in complete shock, but Steve realizes he is screaming to the back of Danny’s broad back.

Before turning out the door, Danny passes the dumbfounded doctor behind the counter and almost shouts so Steve can hear, “He can talk now so he’s all yours, and despite what you may think, on paper he is an adult who can deal with his _own_ doctor’s visits. “

Steve is still on the floor wide eyed and utterly confused. The whole wide eyed hospital struggles to recover from the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Williams.

=

Danny winks and mouths a kiss out the car window to his daughter skipping up his ex-wife’s grotesquely extravagant driveway. A piercingly annoying beeping comes from his pants and Danny closes his eyes letting out a long breathy exhale. _Why the eff did I ever give up smoking._ And as if he were taking a long sweeping drag out of a cigarette, he sucks up a lungful of air, holds it, and reaches for the phone. Steve hates it when he is put on hold.

“What do _you_ want?” Danny whines.

“Pick me up.” Steve grunts, voice even more Neanderthal when metallic over the phone.

“What makes you think I would ever do that? You are really rude, no please either.”

“Daniel. I am going to fire you if you don’t get here NOW. That’s an order.”

“Order?! Order? We aren’t in the navy you idiot, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Look, I’ve been waiting ALL THIS TIME. I knew you had pick up Grace from school, so I waited, even contemplated walking back home, but I’m not allowed to. You throw me over into a hospital, punch me when I come to, and forget that the hospital is 15 miles from my house?! Get, over here. NOW.”

“Fine.” Danny snaps the phone shut and revs the engine gunning it across the island.

When zipping into the hospital driveway, Danny couldn’t help but laugh. Steve was bouncing on his heels to keep himself busy, face swollen wrapped with an icebag, clutching a small brown paper bag in his hands like Grace did with her lunch lunch.

“Awww would you look at this? You look like a kicked puppy.” Danny taunts when as he rolls down the window.

 

“You’re the sick fuck who punched it in the face.” Steve was glaring, but the bugle on his face wasn’t helping him because it reminded Danny of a baby’s.

“Hop in, biatch.” Danny flicked the locks up.

“No way, I am driving. Get out. Now.”

A nurse who was put under the unfortunate task of watching over Steven McGarrett almost started crying. She finally cries out for back up. It takes three nurses and a bulky meat head surgeon to remind Steve that he cannot drive in his condition.

Danny is. In. Heaven. Danny wipes away his tears (yes he was really crying from laughter) before he starts the engine again.

Danny feels something ice cold splash all around his crotch. “Fucking drive, asshole.” Steve cursed as he emptied the all the water and ice from his icepack onto Danny’s  lap.

“The fuck?!” Danny was screaming but laughing even harder choking and gasping for breath.

“DANNY I HAVE A KNIFE SOMEWHERE ON MY PERSON! The security guards never found it but they sure as HELL will once I’ve SHOVED it down your throat.”

Danny barely manages to drive out of the hospital driveway before Steve is punching the crap out of his arm.

Turning on Steve’s street and regaining his composure Danny manages to question Steve, “What was it? Gun herpes?”

Steve grunts, still very annoyed, “Fainting spells.”

“Like the ones Disney princesses get before the hunk in the shiny armor saves them?” Danny starts to regress back to his teenage maturity.

“No- the freaking ones that you get when you-“ Steve stops himself hard grips the side of the door and glares out the window.

“You get when you _what_!” Adult Danny is back, and extremely serious and puts the Camaro into park.

“Nothing,” Steve grunts, “Thanks for the three hour late lift, dick.” and almost slams the car door on Danny’s hand when he tries to grab Steve for a further explanation.

“Hey _asshole_ , asshole I saved by draggin his sorry ass to the hospital instead of pissing on his corpse! _Asshole_ I just asked you a question!” Danny throws the paper bag Steve forgot in the car at Steve’s head. It hits Steve’s thick shoulder with a dull crumple and a small tinkling crash on the floor later, pills spill everywhere on the asphalt.

“Great, you know what? Forget you. _Fuck_ you.” Steve points a finger straight at Danny glaring with his laser eyes, “I never needed those meds anyway.”

“Answer the question.” Danny folds his arms across his chest returning a fiery gaze right back.

“Why the fuck would _you_ care?” Steve huffs, “Fine if it’ll get you the fuck out of my property, my body couldn’t process the transferred blood from two weeks ago well enough for my work outs, and I will have these spells for around another two weeks if I behave.”

“What part _of no strenuous physical activates_ do you _not_ understand!”

“What now, you’re reading my prescriptions?  Get the fuck off my lawn.”

Danny is white hot with rage. He gave up his time, worried over Steve’s unconscious for hours, risked being late for Grace, and even took the trouble last week in checking up with Steve’s blood work, and the man in his debt was disrespecting him off his property.

Unable to form words anymore, Danny guns the engine and leaves burn marks all over Steve’s driveway flicking Steve off through the window.

=

Steve strained to do one last rep of pushups, his face red and straining, neck vains popping out like mad, and sweat collecting and dripping off his nose.

Steve felt the world start going dark and knew he pushed himself too hard.

He hit the floor hard on his face as his vision started to fade.

“Someone, help,” Steve’s voice was shouting in his mind but his lips barely moved over half of his vision was black and closing in, “Danny, Help.”

=

“HEY ASSHOLE!!!” Danny barges into Steve’s house, “I BROUGHT PEACE OFFERINGS!”

Danny dropped off the 6 pack of beer onto the kitchen island and noticed the teakettle was blackened and burning from the raging fire under it. He turned the gas off and dowsed the kettle with water in the sink.

“Hm… All the waters been long gone. Why did he leave it on?” Danny’s quick detective mind flickered on and ran out the kitchen panicking. “STEVE?! HEY MAN WHERE ARE YOU?”

No response.

“STEVE! _Shit!_ ” Danny ran up the stairs and crashed the master bedroom’s door open. “STEVE!” Danny ran to the sprawled unconscious body on the floor and started dialing Steve’s doctor. Steve is moaning.

In his mind, Steve is caught completely off guard, he was not anticipating that Danny would be there. He was vulnerable, broken, not how he ever wanted to be in Danny’s presence. Steve’s thoughts were panicking when he thought Danny might stumble upon the collection of dirty magazines under his bed, or the hidden sex toys under the loose floor board. Shame filled his mind and he began to lose all hope, willing his body to just shut down and die right then and there.

“Hey hello? Doc? Yea, Williams. Steve’s fainted again! You gotta help!” He threw Steve over his powerful shoulder and gently transferred him back onto the bed.

Steve lets out a low groan trying to tell Danny that he is fine and he should just leave.

“It’s ok buddy, I’m here. What Doc? What? You want me to calm down?! My partner is down and you want me to calm down?! Check his pulse? Ok sure.”

After cleaning up the blood off Steve’s nose and the fiftieth time Steve’s doctor assured him Steve just needed to rest, Danny hung up the phone. The funeral durge ringtone he assigned his ex-wife immediately blares from his phone.

“Danny? Where are you?! The school said you still haven’t picked up Grace. GET YOU BLOOMING ASS OVER THERE!”

“Shit!” Danny races half way out the door, the doctor told him to keep an eye on Steve “Ok Steve? Hey buddy, I will be RIGHT back I swear!”

Danny doesn’t return.

At midnight Steve, partially conscious, hears his front door crash open. A panicky rush floods his body and he struggles to turn over in the bed, any other day he could take a burglar, but he can’t even lift his arm. He relaxes when he recognizes the intruder’s voice from downstairs.

“HEY! HEYYY AAAAUUSS HOLE!! HEY WHERE’D YA GO?!” Danny slurs.

 _‘He’s drunk.’_ Steve starts to worry. Danny must have drunk a lot, because Steve knew how Danny could hold his liquor. Not only was he part Irish, but Danny was packing a whole lot of muscle so even the heaviest drinkers had nothing on him. Steve hears something glass shatter down stairs and a delighted, “Whoops!” from Danny.

Danny staggers up the stairs and busts into Steve’s room and Steve struggles to control his frozen body enough pretend to be asleep.

“HEYOOOH!! HERE HEEE ISSSSS!!” Danny revs. “Ladies and Gentlemen! Introducing the most invincible man in the world! Oh no, you say he’s fainted?! Big fucking surprise, we must have been mistaken!”

Steve hears a crumple of a paper bag in the midst of Danny’s wild hand gestures and worries _‘not more scotch.’_

Danny noisily drags the chair over to the bed and unceremoniously crashes down into it staring at Steve’s supposedly unconscious body.

“Hey asshole! I’m talking to you!” Steve almost opens his eyes because he thought Danny knew he could hear him but Danny continues, “Oh yea, fainted. Sorry Princess I’LL TRY TO KEEP IT DOWN!” Danny moves his head closer to scream it into his ear. Steve smells the thick scent of alcohol in his breath.

“You know what you are Steve?! Fucking SELFISH. That’s what you are.

You wanna know why? Why I call you selfish, you asshole? You. Have. Everything. You have  a smoking hot babe on speed dial, the property value of the land your house is on is in the millions, you have every guy and gal EYE humping you wherever you go, but you just keep TAKING. You Take and TAKE.  You are one SELFISH sonofabitch.

Do you know how much time you make me give up? I know my life isn’t as _glamourous_ , or as _exciting_  as yours is, but I have a life, thank you very much! I even let you take my daughter’s nick name for me. You just keep taking more and more, you arrogant prick!” Danny gets up and kicks the bed. He kicks it again and Steve hears him hit the metal frame holler in pain.

“GOD DAMNIT!” Danny hops around in pain. He calms and slumps back down into the chair staring silently at Steve. Steve peeps open a wary eye to make sure that Danny isn’t going to try something stupid or get sick all over him.

Danny breaks the silence with a drawn out sigh, “You are so. _draining_.

Do you want to know what happened today?” Danny chuckles and questions hypothetically,

“Why of course you want to know! Why else would you stick around!

So so listen,” Danny creeps over and starts to whisper like it’s some secret, “So I find your sorry ass here and freak out, and forget to pick up my daughter. MY ONLY DAUGHTER! My ex-wife traps me with the lawyer when I come an hour late and tells me that she is halving my visitation because of my IRRESPONSIBILTY. You see? Inconsiderate! You just take and take. Steve, you have _everything._ EVERYTHING. You have a house! You have connections, you have power. You have immunity. WHY. WHY THE FUCKING _FUCK_ did you have to take my daughter away from me, huh?! Huh? I didn’t even care that you took all of my time, all of my energy, but she is all I have left! She is all I HAVE STEVE- ” Danny stops short and puts a balled up fist to his mouth and heaves. He stands up rushing to the bathroom.

Steve wrenches every time he hears Danny heave into the toilet, wishing he was dead. Hating himself for his stupidity, how much more pain has he caused Danny without knowing?

Danny flushes and rinses his face in the sink. He walks back quietly back to his chair and sighs.

“The saddest thing. The saddest thing, is I keep coming back. Back to work. Back to your crazy ass _fuckery._ Even when I’m at the end of my rope, I keep finding myself coming back. You are always taking over my thoughts, how I _feel_ , always making me worry. Are you going to kill yourself this way? Or that way? It isn’t fair! Take. Take. Take, it’s so hopeless” Danny takes a long sniff, in his head Steve thinks _‘Feelilngs? Wait was he crying?’_

“Want to know something?” Danny whispers constraining himself from breaking down.

Steve didn’t want to see Danny like this anymore. He didn’t want to hear any more of the pain he was causing him and how terrifyingly similar their wretched inner workings were.

“When I was with Rachel and her lawyer this evening, do you know all that I could think about was?”

Steve was caught completely off guard by Danny’s quivering answer, “You.

I Can’t get you out of my head! Here they are threatening to take away of my only child’s time with me, and I’m thinking of your sorry unconscious-ass! You come into my life, point guns at me, have me shot, and invade my mind, my feelings.”

 _‘Feelings.’_ Steve repeats.

“You know what? _Fuck you,_ and your charm, your _charisma._

Even after delegating with the lawyers, do you know what the first thing I did when I got out?! I went to the pharmacy and got your prescription again, guilt’s been dragging me down all day.” Danny waved the paper bag in the air.

“Then that’s when it hit me. You broke me, you’ve taken everything. Out-competed my daughter, my only child, out-competed my fucking will to _live_. You are a cruel, selfish, sonofabitch you know that?” Danny’s voice disappears into his hands broad shoulders lifting and collapsing in silent sobs.

Danny tries to focus his breathing again, “Damnit Danny, I thought you were _over_ this,” Danny’s now directly speaking to himself, “I thought that was just a teenage phase. Get a grip. All it took to undo you is this _fucking_ moron.  Just fucking get over _him_ and get on with your life.”

‘ _What is he talking about?!”_ Steve asks horrified as prospect that Danny has a hideous secret of his own grows even more apparent.

After a silent pause, Danny takes an intake of breath and sighs,

“Why is this happening? Why me? Steve, you could have anyone on the island. I’m an old washed up has been from jersey. Why did you have to pick me, just to torment me?” Danny sighs into a quiet pause.

“Steve, I’m only going to say this once, so pay attention. I am I guess I’m only man enough to say them drunk. Three iiitty-bitty words. I might as well say them while you’re out cold, cuz I’ve been holding it back-“

A rouge hope sprang to life inside Steve’s chest, his ears straining to catch anything that came out of Danny’s lips.

“I.”

Steve’s tries to squash his flipping heart back into his chest. _“SAY IT’_ Steve silently begs.

“Hate.” Steve winces

“You.” He winces again.

“I Hate you! I said it! FIANNALY!” Danny starts laughing histerically, tears glittering in his eyes. “I HATE YOU- I HATE YOU- I HATE YOU. Aha I did it again!” in his excitement he over excites his body and it retaliates in a fit of dry heaving.

Quieting down, his head starts to loll to the side and whispers, “You.” He points a drunk accusing finger across the bed.

“You, who have taken everything from me, everything; My life, my daughter, my mind, taken over every thought it can process. _You,_ I hate you. I hate how you have invaded every part of my life. The way I think about you, constantly. Invaded the way I _feel_ about you. I never thought I could ever hate,” Steve continues to wince at the word hate,” hate SO much, the person I have fallen hopelessly head over heels for. I fucking hate, how fucking hopeless-*yawn*-hopelessly I am in love *yawn* in love with you.”

Steve waits for more but hears Danny start to snore softly. Steve strains his mind to stay conscious and focuses all his might into turning his head to get one last good look at his partner sitting next to him before his world closes dark around him.

 

Steve wakes up to a loud snort. Overnight it seems he regained control of his body and sat up eyes still stuck on his partner sprawled half way off his chair, _‘he’s a mess’._

Danny was slumped over, head dodding up and to the side with each breath, hair flopped over his face. There were bits of sick all over his button down  shirt and his hand was still clutching the small brown paper bag.

Steve, unable to bare looking at him in such a defeated state walks out of the bed towards him.

“No Gracie, give Danno back his gun.” Steve catches the end of  Danny’s sentence as he sleep talks before he grabs Danny’s arm and slings him over his shoulder to transfer him onto the bed. Steve tries his hardest to forget everything Danny said the night before but the heat coming from Danny’s side leaning against him is a hard reminder.

When Steve tries to pry the death grip Danny has on the paper bag, Danny sleep talks, “No no, not now Monkey, this is for Daddy’s friend, he’s sick.” Steve still smells thick alcohol and a hint of vomit in the shorter man’s breath.

“Just going to lay you down so you’re comfortable, Danno.”

He delicately removes his vomit stained shirt without reeling back in disgust and removes the rest of Danny’s soiled clothes. After tucking him in, Steve folds a clean t-shirt and a pair of sweats and places them next to Danny’s sleeping side. Steve sits down and silently watches Danny smile at the new comfortable change of position, sinking himself deeper into Steve’s soft bed.

With sad eyes he grabs one of Danny’s thick calloused hands and whispers, “Love you, Danno.”

Danny nods unconsciously and squeezes back, “Danno loves you more, sweetie.” And releases his hand and shuffles under the blanket back to sleep.

=

Danny wakes with his head throbbing. Hung over, he slowly pieces together that he is in his boxers, in his partner’s bed. Feeling violated he flings the sheets back over his bare chest and scans the room. He hears the clean clothes Steve laid out for him slide off and thud on the floor.

“Steve.” Danny slaps a hand on his throbbing head as last night rushes back into his memory.

“Fucking idiot!” he curses as he flings on the clean clothes and runs down stairs.

Steve looks up from his mug of tea and gives a mock salute to a messy haired Danny. Danny’s shoulder slump over and sits down across from Steve and skims over the newspaper next to him waiting for Steve to say something.

Steve continues to stare quietly over his cup of tea till Danny breaks the silence.

“D’ya have something you want to say princess or are you going to continue to be a horrible host?” Danny doesn’t even take his eyes off the paper.

 _‘He doesn’t remember a thing.’_ Steve thinks, “Coffee?”

“Yes please, and thank you.” Danny breathes a sigh of relief, he was half afraid Steve would rip him to shreds on the off chance he had heard everything last night. “My clo-“

“In the wash, don’t sweat it.”

“Thank you.”

After an awkwardly silent car ride to the office, the two split ways and continue on with their day.

=

Steve breaks the surface face of the ocean and swims towards his towel on the beach. He towels off his shaggy hair and hears his phone go off. He checks it and see’s he has 40 missed calls and 12 text messages.

“McGarre-“Steve answers

“STEVE! Where ARE YOU!?” Kono screams.

“Hey hey, whats wrong? Are you ok-“

“NO! It’s Danny!” Steve can hear that Kono has been crying.

“Kono, tell me what happened!” Steve screams into the phone and throws on his clothes running for his car.

He hears Chins voice now on the phone, “Steve come to the office, it’s real bad, his car is wreck, the firefighters finally put it out. Hurry.”

Steve breaks every traffic law imaginable as he speeds to the office, siren blaring. He swerves in to the parking lot and sprints out the car door to the huddle of officers and firefighters surrounding a smoking wreck of twisted metal.

“Steve!” Kono screams running to him, smashing her tearful face into his chest. “Danny, he’s-“ She chokes and slams a fist to Steve’s chest.

Steve pries her off himself and goes under the yellow police tape.

“No.” was all Steve could word when he saw a charred blackened body get zipped up into a body bag and carted off to the an ambulance.

An EMT speaks into a recorder in the distance, “Caucasian male, average height, supposedly Detective Daniel Williams, burned to death, presence of alcohol. June eighth –“ Steve starts to vibrate in fury as he stares down the EMT.

“You OUT! All of you, get lost.” Chin orders.

Steve falls to his knees completely at a loss for words, pulls at his hair and keeps repeating the word, “No. No.”

“Steve, come on get up, we need to get to the bottom of this.”

“No, this is wrong, this can’t be happening!” Steve pushes Chin aside and runs back to his car.

“Kono, leave him, help me get all this is still evidence.”

=

All Danny wakes up with the sweet taste of chloroform in his mouth. He tries his hardest to make out his location but realizes his face is covered. He rough burlap sack irritates his skin and his rope bindings leave bruises on his wrists. He feels the ground rumble and he realizes he is in the back of a moving van.

“Shit shit shit.” Danny curses into his gag. He rights himself up against the van wall and weighs his options. He wiggles his head out of the burlap sack after loosening the knot against the rough wall and floor.

In the crack of sunlight coming through in between the closed van doors, he sees nothing in the van that could help his escape. He feels the car lurch into park and freezes in fear. He watches the van doors open a crack revealing an attractive familiar face.

He makes eye contact wide eyed in surprise and hears his captor let out a surprised gasp.

“CATHERINE THANK GOD! I GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! HELP!”

Danny hears her open her phone, “Thank God call the police, help me out of these ropes!”

She gives him a cold stare then slams the doors closed again and clicks the lock.

“WHAT!? CATHERINE STOP JOKING AROUND!”

“Admiral, he took the sack off, he saw my face.”

Danny strains to hear a cold metallic response over the phone.

“Might as well bring him in if he’s seen you. We should explain why he will never see his family again. Is he still bound?”

“Yes.”

“Knock him out again and bring him in.”

Danny prepares to lurch himself onto Catherine anticipating that she will open the door, he could easily over take her, but hears the hissing of gas jets and it’s too late.

He comes to under a bright light illuminating an extremely dirty and dark room. Danny receives a sharp smack in the face and his senses sharpen back to normal.

“Dense as a two by four, this one.” Says Catherine’s icy cold voice.

“Detective Daniel Williams. We meet at last.” Danny hears a gruff sinister male voice come from across the table. A dark figure comes into light and stares across with murderous green eyes.

“My name is Admiral Pepper. And this is the last hour as a free man.”

“What?!” Danny screams and struggles against his bindings to the chair.

“The saddest part of this whole ordeal is that I respect men like you. Hard working, underappreciated cops.”

“Why am I hear” Danny spat.

“Now now Daniel, let me explain.” Pepper gives a cold chuckle. “Where should we start? Ah let us start with my favorite subject. Steven Joseph McGarrett.”

“What about Steve.” Danny lowered his voice seriously and stared deathly across the table.

“You are quite protective of your partner aren’t you, Daniel? You see Steve is perfect. The perfect height, shape, and build. He is dedicated to a fault, loyal, tenacious and fearless. You your self have experienced how far he will pursue a single mission whatever the cost  A perfect record from academy, exceeding standards in every way.”

“What do you want with me.” Danny grunted.

“Always sharp and to the point Detective Williams. You see Detective, there was a development that arose when we were monitoring out little pet project McGarrett.”

“Development.” Danny repeated.

“You see as macho and masculine as he may seem, Steve, to our surprise, has a more _delicate_ side.”

Danny narrowed his eyes into smoldering slits and let the man continue.

“After months of surveying through our feeds,” Pepper flips on the small monitor on the desk and it shutters a four split green infa-red screens of Steve quietly sleeping in his bed room, “we began to see the certain interesting insights into his sexual, how do we say this, sexual tendencies.”

“What are you talking about.” Danny grunts.

“You’re boy’s a fag.” Cathrine spits as she walks across the room folding her arms behind the Admiral.

 “Thank you Catherine, for putting it so crudely. But she is correct nonetheless Detective, your partner is a closeted _homosexual”._

“Fuck you” Danny curses.

“ Don’t believe me? I must admit I did not believe it what I was seeing before, but if you need further convincing.” He flickers the monitor to 3 second loops of Steve hunched over naked in need legs spread indecently masturbating while stroking fingers in and out of his asshole. The other screens shows similar disturbing scenes of on his stomach arching in pleasure from a dildo or a jacking off to a dirty magazine.

Danny tore his eyes away and cursed, refusing to see Steve humiliated in front of four cold unfeeling cameras, like some sick sex slave, “You people are fucking sick.”

As if not hearing him Pepper continued, “At first we thought that we had chosen the wrong soldier, but with the help of Catherine here we were able to use it for our own advantage.”

“Hmph” Catherine snorts.

“Wait, why is she here, I thought you were supposed to be in love with him!” Danny glares.

“In love? With him? A girl can always tell when he has someone else on his mind when he’s fucking her.” She spat.

“Which brings us back to you Detective.” Pepper grins.

“Back to me? What are you talking about.”

“So modest. Surely, you with such a high number of solved cases and sharp wit should have noticed by now. No? Well then you did put on quite a show two nights ago, complete with water works. Bra _vo_ ”

“You didn’t-You’re _sick_!”

“Oh yes we did,” He flicked the remote to when Danny was sprawled drunk on the chair next to Steve and the scratchy stereo replayed the sentence. “The person I have fallen hopelessly head over heels for. Hopelessly head over heels for. Hopelessly head over heels for.”

Danny drops his mouth open in sheer horror.

“Poor Steven. Unable to even say a word back in sheer terror and fearful indoctrinated homophobia.”

“But he was unconscious.” Danny whispers.

“Oh no, he heard every word buddy.” Catherine giggles at the screen.

“Steve-“ Danny mouths.

“He will be fine. But you on the other hand, we can’t have you meddling in our leading man’s feelings when we are approaching his big night.”

“What are you going to do to him!” Danny screams.

“As if we would ever tell you. That would be a novice arch enemy’s mistake wouldn’t it?” Pepper grinned evilly.

“What are you going to do to me?” Danny whispers fearfully.

“We will not kill you, out of respect for all your loyal and patriotic service to our country. No, we will be sending you to live the rest of your unfortunate life locked away in prison.”

Danny let out a sorrowful gasp. “Please no. Sir I have a family. A daughter.”

“You call that a family? You’re trash, tossed aside. A petty side statement, a weekend visit.” Catherine laughed.

“That is enough Lt. Rollins! Your family has been led to believe you are _dead_ detective. Your body has been found charred unrecognizable but DNA referenced as yours. You are a ghost Detective. You have nowhere else to turn.”

Danny tries his best to stop shaking in rage as hot tears cloud his eyes. “I hope you will rot in hell for this.”

“Tough words from a dead man who will spend the rest of his life rotting away in a prison cell himself. Best of luck to you Detecitve.”

Before Danny scream in protest, Catherine quickly tasers him and his world knocks into unconsciousness.

 

 


	2. Separated: Jersey, John-Smith, Williams (Danny's Perspective)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 is split up into two perspectives, Steve's and Danny's. You can read them in whatever order you please.

Danny hates the beach, too much sand. But when he digs his toes into the soft sand, he doesn’t really mind it this time. There’s laughter over some rocks and he walks over  to investigate. At first his heart skips a beat when he hears Grace squeal, thinking she’s in danger, then sees her being flung around in a circle in Steve’s arms and his fears melt away. Danny puts his hands into his pockets and edges closer; the two whispering into each other’s ears, laughing some more till they see Danny walking over. Steve whispers something into Grace’s ear, making her smile get even wider. She nods her head in agreement and whispers something back before running over to her father arms extended, waiting for Danny’s to grab her into his embrace.

“You going to tell Danno what you two are plotting?” Danny looks up smiling at Steve and beaming brighter than the sun behind his bare upper body.

Grace nods and waves Danny to come in close so she can whisper it into his ear. Danny grins sourly up at Steve who crosses his arms across his muscled chest grinning goofily and bends over exposing his ear as Grace cups her hands around it to whisper something.

Grace cups Danny’s ear ready to speak, she takes in a breath, Danny hears her part her lips words just about to slip off the tounge-

Danny wakes up in darkness. He rubs his eyes and strains to adjust to the dim lighting.

‘ _ShitShitShitShitShit’_ Danny pads barefoot on the cell’s cold cement floor and blindly extends his arms trying to make his way around. His hands reach rough cinderblock walls and he follows them to the steel bars of his cell. He grips the bars and curls his head on the cold hard metal.

 _This can’t be happening. Please. Please, this can’t be happening._ He’d been working his whole life to put evil men behind bars, keep the world safe for his daughter. Never in a million years did Daniel Danno Williams think he’d find himself locked away in prison.

Danny’s fucked. He lightly thuds his head against the cold bar ignoring the pain, he needs to go home. He pulls hard against the bars, gritting his teeth as he uses all his might to pry the bars open.

‘ _Shit Shit Shit’_ Just two inches of metal separate him from freedom, from his daughter, from the rest of the free world. He grunts in exhaustion and throws himself off the bars angrily.  

Thudding on the ground, his muscles burning. He pulls at his hair trying to reason with himself that it isn’t _that_ bad. He was still alive, he could try to go all Shawshank couldn’t he? He was alive and able bodied.

 _Fuck._

Who knows? He could try to escape, join a gang, get a riot going and sneak out through a weak spot…. As if he could find them. As if anyone would want to help him, a cop, escape.

But even if he were able to find an escape route, have a gang, a posse not only agrees on staying behind, let alone start a riot just for him? He would have to kill a few gaurds.

Danny held his breath, would he kill innocent men just doing their jobs for freedom, just to see his daughter? His head throbs at a painful tempo and he abandons the idea. No matter what, he had taken an oath to protect the innocent, not kill them, whether he was in prison or a free man.

He heaves a sigh and gets on all fours, defeated, crawling with a hand on the wall guiding him back to his bunk.

Danny reels back his hand when his hand made contact with something warm, fleshy, and soft.

“What th-“ He’s cut off by a hand gripping his throat.

“Try’na fuck with me queermo?” Danny’s eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his skull as he violently clawed at the death grip on his throat. He started making gurgling sounds and his hands started losing strength.

 “What you don’t like being touched back?” Danny’s grip on his choker’s hand slips looser and looser, “Fuck with me in my sleep Smithy? No one _fucking_ touches me. Or do you wanna end up like the last guy who tried?”

His cellmate  flings him off the bed hitting the back of his head against his bunk falling limp and unconsciousness.

=

A sharp slap on the cheek snaps Danny back awake. The first thing he sees is a vivid green eye looking straight into his. Danny shouts in surprise and throws out a punch to the side of the face. The man’s head flings to the side and straightens back up, the pupils narrowing in the crisp sea of green. In a flash of motion Danny’s leg are dangling in the air as the man pins him hard against the wall.

“You wanna try that again, Smith?” as the man shoves the blade of his forearm across Danny’s throat.

“Why the fuck you keep calling me Smith?” Danny grunts breathless.

For an instance the creases around the man’s eyes slack but before Danny can take another breath the man stabs a hard finger painfully on Danny’s chest. “John. Smith.”

Danny doesn’t understand until he looks down at the prodding finger. Upside down, Danny makes out the words J-O-H-N  S-M-I-T-H stitched to his prison uniform.

“John Smith.” Danny repeats in a whisper, “The most common male name in America.” He chuckles darkly, of course they would’ve given him the most common name possible, to ensure he’ll never be found.

 

“What, you got beef with simple names?.” The man grunts and releases Danny. Danny flicks his eyes over “James Brown” stitched on his cell mate’s shirt,  “Well where are you from, John-“

 “My name is Daniel Williams, and I’m from-“ He stops himself. Where was he from? Hawaii? Jersey?

“You are one stupid mother fucker, Smith.”

“Jersey. I’m from New fucking Jersey. Happy?”

“No, I’m from New York, and I fucking _hate_ New Jersey.”

“ _Great.”_ Danny breaths between his teeth sarcastically, “There a reason you woke me up other than wanting to choke me again?”

“First off you were bitching bleeding, you _fucking_ ingrate” James points to the floor at a sticky dark red pool of congealed blood, “And second, it’s time for breakfast and we can’t go to the fucking cafeteria till we’re both _fucking_ out.” His profanity almost fogging up the cell.

“What now you have a cop’s mouth?”

Brown narrows his eyes into dark slits getting dangerously close to eachother, “If they’re one thing I hate more than Jersey,” and stabs another finger at Danny, “is a _fucking_ cop.”

Danny stares as fiercely back into James’ eyes. “My name is Danny.”

“No, you’re from Jersey, and that’s all you are to me. Now get _fucking_ cleaned up for inspection so we can eat, _Jersey.”_ scornful emphasis put on the last word.

Danny is stronger than this, if his dick hole of a cellmate breaks him this early, how the hell does he think that he could ever get out of here? Danny bites his lip and walks over to the sink to wash the back of his blood-sticky head knowing full well his cellmate was staring daggers into his back.

After mopping the puddle of blood off the ground with a dirty hand towel from the sink Danny laid his hands behind his head on his bunk and continuing to ignore the scorching eyes still planted on him. After a gruff and invasive inspection and rough guard escort to the cafeteria, the two cellmates immediately split directions.

Danny stood in line for his food, scanning the cafeteria with his peripherals. Like some fucked up jail version of Mean Girls, the cafeteria was split up into “clicks”,  bloody thirsty gangs…. Cute.

“You’re new around here.” Danny is surprised when he hears a jovial voice from across the sneeze guard. This is the first time since he was abducted that he’s heard kindness in anyone’s voice. Danny looks across the lunch line and finds the source of the warm voice, “John Smith.” A hearty black woman scoops what seem to be potatoes onto a plate and slides it onto Danny’s tray, “So Pocahontas finally did’ja in?” Her chuckles raising Danny’s spirits.

“I guess you could say that, “ Danny cracks the first grin in what feels like ages.

“Awww, a man should _always_ kno’ dat a woman can break’m down,” Her sass punctuates her New Orleans accent, “ ‘naw don’t drop your soap n’ have a wondaful day.”

Danny chuckles at her second joke but she stares seriously back at him, “Dis ain’ no joke honey, pretty face like yours, huh-uh, seriously you gunna get fucked. Watchyo back honey.” And sneaks him a second jello.

Danny drops the grin and nods sincerely for the warning, “Thanks for the jello, ma’am-“

“It’s Sherice, seeya Smith.” and waves Danny away from the line.

Danny walks carefully down the grid of tables bustling with people in similar blue denim prison uniforms. He passes  the black gangs eyeing him up and shouting, “Fresh fish!” as he passes. He passes the Hispanic gangs and deciphers some of their tattoos and realizes that along with the usual Bloods and Crips, he makes out substantial pockets of MS-13.

‘ _If MS is here, than that must mean I’m probably on the east coast.’_

He approaches the less populated outer most tables passing a rowdy bunch of thugs that every other group distanced themselves from.

“Ayyy _Gringo_! Fresh pescado!! Eh Mano! You see what I see?” one lively Hispanic yelps in lively Spanglish.

“Oooh, ay you want some of this, puta?” An especially large and sinister Hispanic in the middle of the group, grabs his crotch and air humps in Danny’s direction.

Steering clear of the hostile group he starts veering to the leftmost empty tables. His eyes stop on a familiar face, vibrant green eyes staring hard at Danny past long dark lashes. In the blinding fluorescent lighting Danny see’s Brown in a new light. He has a sturdy lean frame, handsome fair face, short buzz cut hazel hair, and those piercing deep-green eyes.

Veering away from the hollering crowd to his right he makes his way unconsciously towards James, who shocked that Danny would even think of sitting with him flicks him off. Danny stops in his tracks seething, as if he’d ever sit with his dick wad cell mate. He changes directions and goes  further down the row to more empty tables.

“Ayyy Gringo! We just playing, come sit with us! You don’t wanna sit with fucking Crazy-Jamie.”

“Yea he’s _loco_. Cm’on mang!” The group invites him kindly waving for him to come sit with them.

Danny turns around seeing their smiling faces and ponders for a moment. He turns around to face them and looks throws a look back at wide eyed Crazy Jamie and starts walking towards the loud group.

James throws a worried look and shouts, “ _Jersey!_ Park it!”

Danny turns back around seeing the worry on James’ face and sends waves of laughter through the gang as he flicks James off.

“ _Danny!”_

Danny stops when he hears his real name, turning once again to see James seriously worried and stone faced.

“Sit down. _Now.”_ James narrows his eyes  and dares him to try something smart again.

Danny doesn’t know why but he finds himself walking back towards James and sitting down opposite him at his lonely table.

The gang whines and curses in flamboyant Spanish till James stares them and they lose interest.

Danny opens his mouth to say something,

“Shut the _fuck_ up and eat, Jersey.” James doesn’t even bother looking up at Danny as he shoves a spoon full of beans into his mouth.

Danny follows suit and they eat in bitter silence till the cafeteria hall buzzes signaling rec-time.

Danny silently follows behind his cell mate till they reach the prison yard. James slumps on the fence and breathes out slowly.

“You want to tell me what that was all about?” Danny breaks the silence.

“No.” James puts it bluntly.

“Enlightening.”

“Where the hell do you think you’re goin?”

Danny leans off the fence and walks away. “To do some pull ups, unless you wanna get another choke in before I go?”

“Fuck off.”

=

The intercom buzzes for showers and the inmates began to filing into the showers. Danny’s wrestled all through high school so he reasons being naked with a prison full of guys shouldn’t be any more offsetting then it was back in the locker room, but setting foot in a room full convicts, rapists, and serial murderers puts Danny on edge. Facing straight forward he never letting his eyes stray away from the tiles in front of him. Danny lathers a thin coat of soap, but it was pretty hard because the prison’s soap barely did anything but scrap dirt off the surface.

A noisy pod of people enters the showers, their whoops and hollers echoing off the tile walls.

“Where’s dah fish?”

“Ven aqui, found him” the loud group leader from the cafeteria whistle for his entourage over to the shower heads surrounding Danny.

“Ey, need some shampoo n’ conditioner fo your golden locks?” Mano props an arm against the tile wall and stares sideways at Danny.

Danny keeps his eyes stuck to the tile in front of him, memorizing every crack and discoloration.

“Ay papi, it’s ok, chillax homes. Name’s Mano Iglesia Ramirez.” Reaching up and petting Danny’s cheek.

At physical contact, Danny steps back away from the touch but bumps into a towering thick and fat minion on his side.

“Take it easy Goldilocks,” Mano steps under the spray of Danny’s shower head, “no one’s going to hurt you, just gotta break you in, establish your role in the pecking order.”

One of his cronies grins and snarks, “Pecking order con su pecker!” and the group howls in laughter.

The smaller underlings  and go quiet when they see James stalk into the showers in the row behind them letting out an audible cough.

Mano raises his hands above his head playfully, “Ay, easy Crazy-Jay, we just eye-shopping, just look no touch I _swear_. Te prometo.” The group chuckles low and stupidly at their ring leader’s joke.

The largest and stupidest looking of the group pushes back up against Danny and grins sinisterly down. Danny breaks contact with his tile and looks up at the stupid grin looking back down the oaf’s fat chin.

“This is Tiny. He likes blondies,” Danny grits his teeth , searching along the wall for his tile again as he tries to focus on cleaning himself.

Looking up at the giant reminds him oddly of Steve, how Steve could probably beat the shit out of the giant and have them all on their knees in seconds. Danny had always been Steve’s back up, but he knew at the drop of a hat if the tables were turned, Steve would have his back faster than Danny could bitch and moan about his bad knee. Thinking of his partner brought Danny’s mind to a sobering reality. ‘ _Steve’s not here anymore.’_

“Cariño, let’s give him some air, Tiny Tommy.” Mano waves the rest of his underlings to back off, “You want anything? I got everything goldilocks. I got porn, drugs, cigs you name it-I got it. You can have it all if you want, you just need to take a little chimichanga here and there as payment, understand?” The wall of lackeys chuckle eying Danny hungrily.

Danny straightens up and heaves a sigh, his patience is running thin and the fear creeping up his back isn’t helping either.

“I told you you can relax my little _gringuito,”_ Mano moves in close to Danny’s ridged body, “You’re safe with me, kay?” and nudges Danny against the wall and wedges a thigh painfully in between Danny’s. Mano slips a hand down Danny’s backside and slides his rough middle finger quick and dirty down Danny’s ass crack.

Danny shoves Mano back and ducks to drive tackle him into the ground. Once pinned, Danny quickly flips him over and pulls Mano’s wrist painfully up his back and in instinct he reaches around his back for his cuffs. Before he realizes there’re no cuffs, no cop car, no partner, Danny feels a hard knee crack against the side of his skull sending him flying off of Mano’s wincing form.

The other underlings follow Danny’s skidding body as it slips down the grimy shower floor and kick him while he’s down. Danny futilely curls up into a ball, covering his face and shielding his vital organs. His training takes over, and he flexes all his muscles to try to prevent major damage to his internal organs but learns the difference between theory and reality as he feels his kidneys and guts being pummeled to death.

“That’s enough.” Says a gruff voice and the kicking quickly stops, “Get the fucking fuck out of here. Now. Get lost, you disgusting _fucks.”_

Tiny lugs over to challenge James but Mano tells him off, “It’s not worth it, com’on Tiny.”

Danny staggers to his feet and leans up against the tile wall coughing up blood. He cradles his throbbing gut in his left arm and checks for any cracked ribs and then looks up at James, shower water cascading down his face while his green stare glowered domineeringly down at him. His heavily tattooed arm and popping veins tower over Danny intimidatingly. Though they were the same height, Danny’s in complete submission.

He grunts, “Thank you” and tries standing up to match the other man’s height but, his stomach lurches, sending him back hunched over.

“That’s the last time I fucking save your ass Jersey, that’s three strike.” Water beats off his shaved head as he spits, “Tried to fuck with me in my sleep, you’re from Jersey, _and you’re a fucking cop_.” and walks out the shower without another word.

Danny turns off the water and limps desperately after him. In the locker room Danny sees the edges of James’ uniform leaving to the main hall, “Hey! James!  Hey, wait up!”

Danny throws on his clothes and winces feeling his organs scream in protest. He bounces on his heels during inspection impatiently and bolts into his cell to see his cell mate reading casually reading _War and Peace._

Danny lowers his voice to a whisper, “What do you mean, I’m a cop,”

James ignores him and flips the page of this tattered paperback.

“James. What the fuck are you talking about?” More silence. “Fucking answer me!” Danny raises his voice.

“Man, shut your dirty cop mouth the hell up.”

 “Don’t you _ever_ call me a dirty cop.”

“Why else would you be the fuck here?”

“I’m not _supposed_ to be here.” Danny said frustratingly.

James lets out a sarcastic laugh, “ _Sure_.”

“I was fucking set up, the fucking CIA, fucking Admiral what’s his face- you know what, never mind, tell whoever you want you fucking bastard, see if I care.” Danny throws himself around the bed and faces the wall.

His head is throbbing, he sees nothing but a dull read when he closes his eyes. His face is on fire and his pulse roars in his ears. He misses his shitty apartment. He misses his friends, his family, even the _beach_. His booming pulse slows down and Danny feels himself slipping away.

Grace squeals running across the white sand, running in and out of the waves, trying to get as far down shore as she can before the waves crash back in again. Steve grabs her up from behind and flings her over his shoulders making Danny’s daughter scream in delight. Steve wades in deep; his solid, built form unaffected by the pounding waves that would have overtaken Grace in an instant. Steve reaches the waist deep water, the smooth waves like liquid sapphire reflecting sun beams over his rippled body. Grace plays with his hair in her small hands and lets out a squeal of delight when she spots Danny on the beach. She bends down over to talk to Steve and though Danny can’t hear her through all the waves he catches her forming the words ‘ _Danno’_. Steve scans the shoreline where Grace is pointing and spots Danny. The totem pole of the people wave enthusiastically, egging him on to come in and join them. Danny looks down at crystal clear water and sea foam lap at his bare feet. Grace squeals louder and Danny catches snippets of Steve’s low booming voice over the crashing surf and gives in and steps into the warm water. Danny wades out to them and Grace reaches out to be transferred into Danny’s arms. Steve guides her down his shoulder when Danny extends his arms. A strong rip tide tears Danny back off his fee and Grace almost slips back into the water but Steve has a solid grip on her. Danny gets pulled under, he thrashes to resurface but just keeps getting pulled deeper. He can barely make out Steve  shouting or Grace’s screaming when everything fades out black.

 

The next morning was uneventful. Sherice eyes the bruising on Danny’s face but asks nothing of it.

“Here suga, have another biscuit.” She says warmly sneaking him another stale brick.

Danny grunts, “Thank you.” And tried to smile but felt his swollen lip strain about to tear open again.

“Don’t push yo self too hard, you ain’t that good lookin.” She winked and helps the inmate behind him.

Danny walks all the way to the opposite wall where the tables are empty aside from a light scattering of lone inmates. Danny could see why most of the others have kept their distance after inspecting each of the alienated people sitting by themselves. Most of them twitch erratically and had manic expressions on their faces, Danny’s experience in the field immediately recognized them as crazies; the psychos, the _serial killers_. Danny foraged around for an empty table again and ignored the whistles and goading from Mano’s group and sits down.

Prodding his soppy eggs with his spork he sees his cell mate sit at the table straight across from him and  Mano’s troop lower its volume instantly. Danny matches glares across his table with Brown’s deep green stare and takes a bite out of his brick bun, chewing viciously. Scowling in disgust at Danny, Joe flips him off and breaks eye contact to eat.

=

After a grueling self-punishing workout lifting weights in the yard, Danny gets into the showers late and gruffly bumping shoulders with the mass of inmates. Feeling his sore overworked muscles twitch and shiver Danny regrets pushing himself so hard, ‘ _Fuck, can’t even lift my hands without shaking.’_

Danny tremblingly manages to lather his torn muscles, welcoming the ice cold spray from the shitty prison showers. He uses the soap as a crude form of shampoo and kneads it through his hair. He sighs stretching his sore shoulders as rough bullets of water pound his face. Turning the spray on harder, he lets the roaring splatter fill his ears, closing his eyes and letting himself relax.

The walls echo the hushed whispers and jeering from the shower’s entrance. Splattering feet saunter invading Danny’s peaceful solitude. He concernedly cracks his eyes back open when the footsteps draw near his back wall shower. There were tons of empty showers in the front, why the hell were they walking all the way back here?

“Goldilocks! Come out come out wherever you are!” Mano’s taunting voice sends a crack of fear down Danny’s spine.

‘ _Shit.’_ Danny’s mind races, ‘ _Shitshitshit.’_

Danny washes off quickly and turns off the shower and pads quickly around the end of the wall and peeks over.

“Over there boss!” someone shouts.

‘ _Damnit’_ Danny curses and runs around the other direction, looking back to see if anyone is tailing him.

*Thud* Danny’s face smacks into an oily unwashed chest and jumps back defensively.

Tiny Tommy grins stupidly down at Danny, teeth missing and rotting.  The gang slowly surrounds Danny and forces him to back up against the shower wall.

Mano pushes his way to the front, dark brown eyes gleaming, “Found you gringo,” He licks his lips hungrily, “Crazy Jay ain’t around either, shh no no no, don’t be scared gringuito.” Looking into Danny’s darting eyes, he slimily strokes Danny’s cheek.

“Get the fuck off of me” Danny slaps the hand out of his face and pushes Mano back.

Mano feigns surprise and causing whooping throughout the gang, “Oh no no  _no_. Gringuito, I guess we need to teach you a little lesson don’t we?” He grabs his crotch and stirs up the crowd.

“C’mon man. Just let me out, I’m done showering.”

“We just got out from the yard gringo, but I’ll tell you what we’ll try to make this as quick as possible, right boys?” The boys let out a grunting laugh.

“C’mon man, please don’t do this.” Danny’s voice barely makes it out of his quivering throat, “Hey!” Danny feels a hard pinch on his ass and reeling around and forcefully shoving his molester off against the wall.

“Easy easy Smithy, we don’t want anyone to get hurt now do we?” Mano waves three burly minions over and they gruffly pin him against the wall. Danny tries his best to fight them off but his body tires, his sore muscles scream in pain.

His captors stretch his arms up against the wall, exposing everything. Mano slides across the tiles and presses close to Danny’s shaking nude front, kicking his legs apart, stench and grime filling Danny’s nostrils.

“Good, much better.” Mano slides hands over Danny’s stretched body humming in delight. He plays with Danny’s nipples making Danny whimper in terror, “Love my bitches nice and tight. Love it when they take care of themselves, just. For-“ Mano slicks his hand down cupping Danny’s genitals, “Me,” and gives them a soft groap.

Danny thrashes around trying to free himself, Mano’s callused hand tightened painfully around his testicles making Danny shout in pain. “Get him on his knees,” He orders

“P-pl-please. Don’t do this.” Danny begs trying to fight back every second but his body lost all energy long ago.

“Sh- _shhhh_. It’s all going to be ok, we’re just going to have some fun with you, aren’t we boys? You like fun don’t you, gringo?”

“P-please. Don’t-” Danny pleads clenching his thighs together as tightly as he can but inevitably four rough bruising hands pry his knees apart exposing his entrance indecently.

He feels a sharp kick to the ribs, “Duh, boss asked you a question.”

Danny collapses winded, but his captors keep him suspended kneeling on the wet floor.

“Yes, you like fun don’t you?”

Danny whimpers when he feels Mano’s thick and sweaty erection slide across his ass hole, up and down his pried ass crack, the salt stinging his sensitive opening.

A sharp smack to the back of the head and Danny finally answers, “ _No.”_

The troupe around him laugh hysterically, “Well then, we’ll just have to show you what a great time we all can have, this’ll be the best night of your life.”

Mano shoves two dry fingers tearing through Danny’s asshole making Danny scream in pain, feeling the sharp finger nails make little cuts into his sensitive flesh. His screams cause shockwaves of louder laughter.

“Pp-please. Don’t do this. I-.” Danny feels tears collect around the brims of his eyes and screams again when he feels Mano shove two fingers from his other hand into him alongside the two already in him now, feeling a tiny flow of warm blood trace down his inner thigh. “P-please don’t. I’m. I’m”

Danny hears the men around him start grunting and laughing, masturbating in a circle at the spectacle before them.  Danny feels something split in his throat when he lets out his loudest scream yet as Mano forcefully pries Danny’s asshole open with the fingers impaling him.

“Oooh nice and tight. No one ever fuck you gringo? Mmmm love popping cherries. Yup” Mano grunts examining Danny, “Nothing feels better thana good ol’ fashion _virgin_. You’re going to be begging me to fuck you harder, gringo, more than happy and grateful that I be your fucking first.” He prods deeper and more vigorously into Danny’s bleeding hole.

A faster trickle of blood races down his other thigh as Mano slows his pace again. “Please stop, don’t do this-” Danny screams again when Mano rips his dry pressing fingers out in one quick devastating motion. Danny collapses again but hard hands yank him back up, pulling harder on his arms stretching every fiber of his body. Two thick fat calves plant on the tiled floor in front of Danny’s eyes. He looks up at Tiny Tommy’s throbbing erection as Tiny grotesquely strokes it in front of Danny’s face.

“No- N-no” Danny begs. Mano stands up and Danny’s heart pleads that Mano would tell his lackey off.

“Tiny listen to me,” Tiny barely hears him, his tiny mind wrapped in a lustful haze, “ _Idiota! Digame!”_ Mano shouts getting Tiny Tommy’s attention, “You do your thing but you fucking pull out when you come you fucking hear me? Don’t want your fucking shit in him spoiling him with whatever the fuck you got, you hear me?!”

Tiny grunts nodding then looking back down sinisterly into Danny’s trembling face and spits into his hand and rubs his saliva on his erection. He presses the thick head into Danny’s face, but Danny turns his face in refusal. He whispers again, begging to anyone who would listen, “Please, you don’t- don’t please. I’m  wait-“ Danny screams again arching his head back when he feels Mano shove his whole throbbing thick erection into his bleeding asshole in one go. Tiny grabs Danny’s long hair with one grimy hand and shoves his other into his mouth fingers locking onto the bridge of his bottom teeth and shoving down.

“Don’t want you to bitey” Tiny’s stupidly grunts and pries Danny’s jaw open further.

‘ _Please fucking stop.’_ Danny cries in his head as Mano pounds furiously in and out of his torn asshole.

Danny tries his best to back his head out of Tiny Tommy’s grip but that makes him yank harder on Danny’s hair and begins to slowly slip his thick dick into his exposed mouth.

Hot tears tear down his burning face as Mano increases his manic pace, spanking Danny’s ass raw, the slapping of his ball sack on Danny’s stinging entrance echos off the walls. Danny frantically darts his eyes around the room for anyone who could help him, Steve, James, _anyone._ Just a wall of grotesque perverted men getting off on Danny’s rape. Danny’s body falls limp now fully being supported by the gang members suspending him, his body lurched forward in grotesque rhythm with Mano’s frantic pounding tearing into him.

 _“I’m waiting for-“_

Tiny slid in and out, groaning deeply as he began fucking Danny’s mouth and applied more force with his hands splitting Danny’s jaw open further. Mano shoved violently forward in time with one of Tiny’s thrusts and hit the back of Danny’s mouth causing his stomach to clench involuntarily as he threw up all over Tiny’s lower body.

Tiny withdrew his cock in disgust and ripped Danny’s head up by the hair and smashes a punch across Danny’s bleeding face.

“Ey! Easy with the face you idiot!” Mano screams arching up and down in pleasure.

“He got sick on me!” Tiny whines.

“Just turn the fucking water back on you idiot, we’re in a fucking shower.” And Mano continues to plow into Danny with primal grunts.

Tiny turns the shower on and shoves his salty fingers back into Danny’s mouth and continues to fuck hisgaping mouth, Danny throws up again but Tiny doesn’t mind and keeps shoving more and more down his throat.

 _‘Please- I’m saving myself for-“_

Danny hears one of the lackeys around him shout throatily as he begins to ejaculate all over Danny’s back.

Mano rears back and rams in hard and Danny feels the length inside him spasm about to release, Tiny jerks out of his violated throat and begins to jack himself off in front of Danny’s face, still yanking on Danny’s soft long hair.

Mano shouts to announce his climax and begins pistoning erratically,  spilling his seed into Danny’s bleeding ass. Tiny releases right after spurting into Danny’s face.

Danny feels his body being violently flung to the ground, his face crunches across the hard wet floor. The room files out after each one climaxes over Danny’s defeated sprawled body. Mano whispers into Danny’s ear after his orgasm calms, “You’re welcome _gringo_. See you next time.” Danny lays helplessly limp on the floor unable to right himself in shock.

‘ _Please- I’m saving- I’m waiting for- saving-’_ his mind repeats while he rocks himself back and forth, disgrace, disgust, and crushing terror over comes his body as Mano pulls out of him.

Mano steps into a distant showerhead for a quick clean.

 _‘Saving myself for someone I care about.’_ Danny’s body goes limp and his vision darkens, ‘ _Someone._

 _Someone special.’_

 

“If I find out that any of you _putas_ didn’t _fucking_ pull out, I will personally skin you alive,” Mano yells jovially over his shoulder toweling off, “Have fun.”

Danny balls up under the cold spray of the water as a hungry ring of minions closes in around his huddled body. He trembles into quaking sobs wishing with every fiber of his being for this nightmare to end.

His body goes into shock, his mind closing off and blocking some of the pain. He flails around helplessly, all the fight gone from his body sliding across the slippery floor like a rag doll as the thirsty crowd take turns.

Danny loses his grip on reality; his mind drifting back over to white sands, the cold metallic waters traded in for and glassy warm water. He hears Steve laughing in the distance. Seconds later Grace lets out a pealing giggle not far from Danny’s sprawled body. Danny would give anything to see their faces one last time.

Danny looks up off the ground, his body wasting away used and broken, and gets his wish. He sees Steve and his daughter planted before him in the sand. The sun stopped shining, the laughter ceases, waves stinging his eyes as tears streak down his face. His mouth fails to form words, any sort of explanation.

Danny silently sobs into the wet ground, ‘ _not like this’,_ trying to hide his body from their view. With all his might he tries to retract his last wish, instead begging to be invisible, to seep into the ivory sand with his blood streaking across the shore like stripes of red profanity; Grace and Steve stand silently over Danny, eyes blank, faces grave and dark, staring.

=

James shifts his weight from one leg to the other irritably, fuming.

‘ _Going to beat the shit out of his fucking skull,’_ he tugs absent mindedly on the hand cuffs binding him to the outside of his cell.

The nervous lanky guard, an obvious rookie, cracks his voice, “Don’t think of anything funny, Brown.”

“No sir, wouldn’t dare think of it.” James smiles sweetly flashing those lush green eyes.

“D-don’t play games with me. I heard what you did from th-the others.” The guard stutters.

“Then why the fuck did they only put one man on me?” James grins evilly, “Which reminds me newbie, enlighten me as to why I’m not in my comfortable cell right now and talking to your sorry ass?”

“R-Regulation says that an inmate will be detained until his respective cell mate is found.”

“Oi, Jersey, going to tear you a new one.” James curses to himself, and movement down the hall redirects his rolling irises.

Two large guards, each shouldering one of Danny’s arms, drag his body down the hall. Danny silently lolls side to side, hair falling over his face, his prison uniform’s shirt streaked with grime and vomit. When he approaches the cell, James notices that Danny’s trembling, his mouth mumbles at random volumes like a mad man.

The guards manually unlock the cell bar and unceremoniously shove Danny’s limp body into his bed making him let out a helpless yelp slipping off the bed.

“Hey what the fuck happened to him?” James yells as they rough house him back into his cell and lock the door.

“What happens in prison,” The older guards grunt leaving stone faced and disgusted, “You criminals disgust me.”

“Hey! You, newbie, tell me what happened.” The younger man jerked up in fear and James softened his voice, “What did they do to him?”

“I just heard that t-they all took turns, in the shower.” He gave a hushed whisper and yelped again as the older guards barked his name ordering him to follow, “I’m really sorry this happened to your friend.”

James hears a rough croak behind him and sees Danny hollow eyed still shivering and muttering to himself, trying to right himself up back on the bed but lacking the strength to lift himself.

James tries to help him back up but Danny flings his arm out, gripping the bed with all his might to shield himself, “NO! No more! NO!” he cries, eyes wide with sheer terror.

“Easy Jersey, let’s just get you in bed, shit you smell like-ugh!” James pushed through the disgusting stench of Danny’s vomit crusted shirt and pried Danny from the bed post onto the bed.

Danny collapsed on his stomach the bed and immediately twisted his legs together, clenching his bottom as tight as he could. James looked down squinting in horror at the blood staining Danny’s uniform all around his ass.

James softly tried to settle Danny onto his side and remove his soiled shirt and cover him with his blanket. Halfway from removing the shirt off, Danny suddenly grabs James’ arm and squeezes hard, “Please- s-stop, don’t do this.” Danny’s eyes are empty and blood shot, “I’m waiting for someone I care about,” He whispers, begging for anyone to understand.

James presses Danny back down into the plastic mattress and whispers softly, “Danny, just get some rest, I’m not going to doing anything to you.”

At the tender tone James’ voice, Danny releases his grip and his eyes soften till they slowly close,

“For someone special,” Danny repeats and slips back into his pillow curling up into a quivering ball.

All through the night Danny would lash out violently in the air and dry heaving throated gags before falling back down unconscious. James gave up on sleeping through Danny’s fits; checking up on him when the thrashings got particularly violent. At around 3AM Danny’s fits had reduced to roughly rolling from side to side and James wondered if he was finally calming down. He went over to check and saw Danny’s sweat drenched face, eyes rolling into the back of his half parted eyelids. James placed a testing palm onto Danny’s wet forehead and let in a gasp feeling it burn.

 _‘He’s burning a fever.’_ He cursed running over to the sink and wetting a hand towel in the sink.

“Listen Jersey, we gotta get you cooled off” He peeled off the wet sweaty shirt off of Danny and started to wipe down Danny’s burning body.

“S-steve?” Danny’s devastated face smiled feebly up at his cellmate.

“No, it’s me, Gre-I mean James.” he stutters.

“ _Steve.”_ Danny grabbed his cell mate shaking him, “I’m so glad you came. Get me out of here! Please! They- they did things. Th-they did things to me, Steve.”

“Danny get a grip!” James tries to shake Danny off him.

“Please get me out of here. I need to see Grace, I need to get out of here.” Danny pleads his red eyes wide and desperate.

“Just lay down Danny, get better then we can talk about getting out of here.” Danny complies and laysback into the bed, and clinging to the sheets, refusing to expose his lower body.

James sees the sun start to rise through the miniscule window in their cell and Danny’s breathing finally settles its manic rhythm as he enters REM sleep. Convinced he’s fought off Danny’s fever to a safe temperature, he retreats back to his own bed and slams into the sleep he desperately needs.

Danny wakes up and looks around for his shirt, the stinging shooting up from his ass sharply reminding him of the horrors that took place the day before. He pulls his shirt of the sink and quietly waits for the cell to open.

James stirs when the intercom buzzes for breakfast and all the cells unlock at once. Danny is already standing at the cell bars, upright as straight as his torn body allows, and steps out once the opening gap gets big enough for him. James puts his shirt on and stalks behind him.

Danny looks down at his tray while standing in line for food, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Sherice understands his silence instantly and hums sweetly to try and sooth Danny’s egdes. She slides him another helping of porridge as he leaves the line quietly and Danny nods goodbye.

Danny quickly moves aside when anyone crosses his direction and refuses to let his eyes off the  ground. His injuries mess with his stride and he shuffles as fast as he can to the back of the cafeteria wincing as he eases himself into a chair at a deserted table. He idly swirls his spoon around the chunky porridge before James plops his tray down behind Danny. Danny began to eat furiously, as fast as he could just to get away from his cellmate, burning with anger. Pasting James’ handsome face with those fucking green eyes onto a target in his mind, Danny focuses all his of all his pent up hate at this mental image. James’ was the first face he saw when he came into this place, the first to beat his welcome into this shit hole; releasing all the rage in his devastated body in James’ direction is easy.

=

Weeks pass and Danny silently conforms into prison’s routine. Eat, rec-time , exercise, cell time, eat, more rec-time, showers, cell time, dinner, cell time repeat. Repeat. Repeat. But being the keen detective he has always been, Danny notices that wherever he goes, no matter how subtle James tries to be, he always is in his sights. Always reading his stupid book in the corner of the library when Danny’s on the newspapers, in the shower over the wall from him, always eating meals a few tables away. Danny just let it brush by, but when it gets to the point the he realizes that James is in proximity even when he takes a leak, it starts to rub Danny the wrong way.

At dinner Danny was fortunate enough to be first in line for food, the first bit of good fortune in months. This meant the hottest food, food at the top of the tray, fresh (fresh being a relative term), and tasty (again, relative). He is almost smiling back to his table in the far back, the night getting even sweeter when he sees his cell mate look jealously over from the back of the line.

Danny digs into what appears to be meatloaf and gives a soft moan of relief when he tastes sweet tangy ketchup and crispy bread crumbs on the top.

He almost throws up when he hears Mano groan, “Oh you like? Te gusta? You know I could get you all the meat loaf you wanted, for a price. We can do it right here if you want gringo, we can go all night long.” He slides onto Danny’s table shoving the tray of piping hot food out of Danny’s proximity.

“Ramirez.” Danny seethes, his ass still scarred giving him a hard reminder of the evil man.

“Oh, you sour about what happened last time? Aw it’s ok, we can do it again, this time I’ll take it easy,” He grins licking his lips and brushes Danny’s hair out of his eyes, “What can I say? You get me all worked up, gringo.”

Danny swats the hand away from his face and grits through his teeth, “Fuck off Ramirez,”

“Oh, last names, am I in trouble papi?” He presses in closer, “Not so tough when I’m fuckin’ you with mah dick are you? Cryin’ like a baby all nice and tight for me,” He whispers into his ear hungrily. He steps back and jovially grinds his pelvis into Danny’s side.

Danny shoves him away from his table and sees a tattooed blur whiz past, t-boning Mano into a table with a deafening crunch. James cracks the Hispanic man two heads taller than himself into the metal table before his own tray of food even hits the floor and lands a solid punch to the face.

“You never touch Smith, you hear me?” he grabs Mano by the collar who cracks a bloody grin.

“Something bothering you Crazy Jamie?” which merits another smashing punch across the face.

The posse pries James off of Mano and helps their leader back onto his feet. James shrugs off the hands holding him back and stabs a finger at Mano and then points at Danny, “Smith. You never touch him.” He storms off planting himself down at a table in Danny’s vicinity without his food.

Danny feels steam rise above his head, fuming in rage. He doesn’t need _anyone_ fucking watching his back, like some defenseless little girl- James isn’t his partner, he isn’t fucking _Steve_. Daniel Williams takes handouts from no one. He reaches for his tray of food, stands up walking over to James, refusing to make eye contact and slamming his tray down in front of the man, half his food spilling over the edge still piping warm steam.

“Don’t need your fucking pity,” James grunts still refusing to look up at Danny,

“Neither do I.” Danny turns around and coldly walks out the cafeteria to blow off steam.

=

After a grueling and violent game of basketball in the yard to clear his mind, Danny hits the showers. Closing his eyes into the spray he relaxes his tense neck into the bullets of water hitting his tired eyelids. He  feels a slap across his wrist and his bar of soap thud on the floor.

“You dropped your soap Goldilocks.”

Danny quickly turns around startled and finds Mano bracing both arms onto the walls with Danny’s head in between. Danny frantically looks around but the whole shower is empty, not even James. Danny tries to calm down and focus, assess the situation, find a strategy-

Mano pins Danny against the wall painfully and starts to rub is erection up and down Danny’s inner thigh,

“You’re long overdue for re-inspection, gringuito.”

“Get off of me!” Danny muffles terrified, shoving and slipping against Mano’s wet body which spurs Mano on, “Fuck- OFF!” Danny shouts and lands a solid punch to the gut.

“oof- Still got some fight in ya don’t you, little puta.” Mano advances dark eyes half lidded in lust. He lunges forward quickly grabbing Danny around the waist, raising him up and slamming him back into the tiled floor.

Danny feels his ribs crack and he reels in pain as Mano gruffly flips him over roughly spreading Danny’s legs apart. Danny’s not giving in so easily and makes a hard, swift kick to Mano’s exposed testicles and clambers forward.

Howling in rage, Mano gets back up and grabs Danny’s ankle and yanks him back across the slippery floor, “For that Smith, I’m going to fucking pound your ass without even stretching you open first.”

Danny whirls around to back fist Mano, but Mano dodges and grabs Danny’s other ankle jerking them above his head. Danny jerks up to head but him but sees a heavily tattooed arm snake around Mano’s surprised face and choke the living bejesus out of the man’s throat. Mano releases his grip on Danny’s legs and tires to pry off James’ thick forearm from his windpipe.

Danny straightens up making eye contact with James over Mano’s struggling body and lunges a quick upper cut to Mano’s exposed belly knocking out all the wind left in him. Seeing that Mano wouldn’t get up anytime soon James releases his death grip and lets the heavy Hispanic man fall to the ground.

“You done here?” James grunts at Danny’s naked body under the shower.

“Are you?” Danny points down at Mano, “You wanna tell me why you’re fucking following me everywhere?”

Without answering Danny’s questions his cell mate turns for the door, “Library. Ten minutes. Don’t keep me waiting, _Williams._ ”

=

“Everyone out!” James orders the tiny prison library when Danny enters.

Danny sits down across from his cellmate, “What do you want Brown?”

James weaves his fingers into each other and thoughtfully rests his head on them. He contemplates his next move and speaks right before Danny stands up to leave thinking this was useless, “My real name is Greg.”

“Gr- What?”

“Greg. Woodal.” He stabs Danny with serious look, his handsome features turning dark, “What do you have to do with the CIA and the USN.” His questions more like demands.

“The CIA- USN? Where are you getting at?”

“When you first came here, after you said you didn’t belong here, you mentioned the CIA and an Admiral.”

“I-“

“Tell me the _real_ reason you are in here.”

“James-“

“It’s Greg.”

“Greg,” He corrected himself the word felt weird rolling off his tongue, “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“Try me.” His cell mate’s voice turning even more serious.

Danny slumps his shoulders, habitually running his hand through his long hair completely caught off guard. He struggles to remember, surprised at how he’s let the memories of how he got here get so far out of his mind.

“I-“ He stopped himself trying to form words he thought he’d never have to explain for the rest of his life, “Well you already know I used to be a cop right?”

“Right.” Eyes narrowing.

“Well I was a detective for a special task force in Hawaii.”

“Special task force…. Wait I thought you were from Jersey.”

“After my divorce, my ex-wife remarried some rich fuck and took her there to his all mighty and glorious mansion.” Making flourishes with his hand, his resurfacing habit surprising himself.

“I transferred to Hawaii PD to be there for my daughter-“ Danny bit back the rest of his sentence shocked at how his old life, his only daughter, felt so alien to him now. How long had he been gone? What was going on outside these steel bars? It hadn’t register that the rest of the world would have continued to move along unbiased to his disappearance. Grace would continue growing up with or without his watchful eye, Five-0 would always be keeping criminals at bay, Steve would always be charging in head first into explosions-

- _Steve._

“Hey, Danny. You ok?” James- no Greg, broke Danny’s contemplative trance.

“Oh. Sorry. It’s just feels like decades have passed by since I was on the outside living my old life…” He broke off again frowning at how much he must be missing right now; Grace turning into a beautiful young girl, Steve’s hair continuing to grey silver around his temples, Rachel falling more and more in love with Step-Stan, that was his nick name right?

“I know what you feel. I have a kid too you know, little snot must be up to my waist by now.” Greg’s eyes softened into sad dark circles, green eyes flushing richer in hue, “Name’s lil’ Johnny, after my little-“ He stopped himself short, his softened expression turning hard again.

“After who?”

“My baby brother.” His tone sharpens and presses seriously with determination, “I need you to tell me what the CIA had to do with your imprisonment.”

“I-“ Danny didn’t feel it was appropriate to explain the gushing well of emotions flooding back up his chest remembering that it was his affection for his partner that landed him in this situation in the first place, “I.” He mutters again.

“Listen, those sick fucks in the CIA killed my baby brother, and when I tried to dig a little deeper, I find myself rotting here in jail. Tell me _now,_ ” Greg slams his fist into the metal table, “if you’re in a similar situation.”

Danny’s response was quick and decisive, “They locked me up because I was in the way of some crazy master plan, they were going to use my partner for some fucked up take over and they thought I was going to jeopardize their sick plans..”

“Oh.” It wasn’t exactly what Greg was looking for but there must be some sort of connection between their imprisonments, “You said something about the navy.”

“Yea, but what does that have to do with you?”

“It has everything to do with me. I’ma SE… ‘ex’-SEAL.”

We all know who pops into Danny’s mind now, dusting off his detective mind, it clicks on whirring back into gear, “Ex?”

“I was dishonorably discharged.” His voice dripping with bitterness.

“What happened?” Danny sits on the edge of his seat.

“That would bring me back to Little Johnny,”

“Your son?”

Greg’s eyes shrink back for a minute, “No, my baby brother. He was a fucking _genius._ Math whiz since grade 1, got accepted into every school, even MIT. Computer extraordinaire.” Excitement grew in his voice, as if his emphatic praises were keeping the image of his brother alive, “He was one fucking smart kid, not like his fucking dumb-as-a-rock older brother.” He bit back.

“Hey, you’re a SEAL, you gotta be at least a little proud of that.” Danny recalls the pride that swelled in Steve’s chest whenever he heard his rank announced before his name, or when he met another comrade from the SEALS.

“No man, he was… He was the one who was going to make it, fucking get out of the shit hole shelter we grew up in, going to become his own man.. till.”

“Till what?”

“He fucking ruined it all. I was barely starting up the ranks in the Navy, and he, the _only_ one in my family to _ever_ go to college, starts fooling around with the wrong guys in college, saying he needed to kiss ass to the big dogs to get up further in life, doing all sorts of the wrong kind of stuff with the wrong kind of people.

Then I hear that he gets on academic probation and he comes to me when I’m on the mainland. Fucking messed up on the worst kind of shit imaginable, paranoid about finding out too much, that people were out to get him. I told him to get a fucking grip and get help, finish school and settle down. My wife was pregnant and barely keeping onto her nursing job and making even with the rent with our combined income, I didn’t have the energy let alone the funds to support a junkie.” His voice trailed off sad into the distance.

“What happened to him?”

“He dropped out of school.” Silence hung in the air between Greg’s recollections, “Sandra was in her third trimester and deserved to be looked after herself, not looking after some neurotic addict ina one room apartment. Whenever I called she was always so tired and stressed. Towards the due date I got leave off and stayed home with her and Johnny and tasted for myself the troubles she was bearing.

He was a complete wreck and we thought he was crazy till we both started noticing _them_ too.”

“Them?”

“The people Johnny was talking about, the ones he said were following him.

At first we thought we were getting suspicious  because of his constant ranting, but the cars outside the apartment, noticing that our mail was being opened the resealed. All that stress overwhelmed Sandra. It was a miracle she ever made it through child birth.” Greg stopped himself again.

“How’d you end up here?”

“I started digging, Danny. He was my baby brother, ain’t no one going to mess with my family. The trails got deeper and deeper man, everything Johnny said it was there. The North Korean delegates, the internal defections. Admiral Pepper and his fucking groupies trying to have their-“

“Wait, Pepper?!” Danny screams, “Admiral Pepper?!”

“How do you know who that is,” Suspicion flaring in Greg’s darkened face.

“He. He was going to manipulate my partner, he was a SEAL too, into killing those delegates.” Danny said softly, “He said I was getting too attached to my partner and was too smart for my own good.”

“Attached?”

Danny bit his lip angry at himself for letting this riveting new information make him slip the true reason why he was in here.

“We were really close, close friends.” Danny words softly, and tries to change the subject, “What happened next?”

“They-“ Greg choked back a little, “I was getting baby Johnny’s shots at the clinic. And they-“

“Man if you don’t want to tell me I-“

“They _killed_ my wife and brother Danny,” Greg’s green eyes glowed deeper than ever before, wet and glossy, “They bombed the whole apartment. They killed my baby brother, my wife-“

“My God.” Danny gasped horrified.

“The fucking CIA labeled me insane, ‘ _unfit for duty’_ , said I went insane, that I was the one feeding the drugs to my little brother, that I fucking rigged the apartment to blow-“

“Fucking bastards.” Danny grunted.

“They changed my name and locked me down here.”

“Just like they changed mine.” Danny looked down at the word John Smith stitched to his chest.

“That was my first clue that you were different. When you mentioned the CIA and something about an admiral. I- I just had this crazy hope that maybe you, you know,”

“That I didn’t belong here either.”

“Danny this changes everything, we gotta get the fuck out of here. You getting locked up means they’re  still out there! Who knows what they’re going to do!?”

 _Steve._ Danny worries until a shocking new terror grips his heart.

“SHIT Greg! My daughter! FUCK!” Danny stood up and punched the edge of the table. He slides into his hands completely exasperated. He’d  thought that they would stop with just him, leave his baby girl alone,  but hearing what atrocities  have been done to Greg’s loved ones ignites a whole slew of terrible possibilities. He needs to get out _now._

“Danny. Do you know of _anyone_ who could be looking for you right now?”

“I- yeah. I know a guy.” Steve must be looking for him. Steve would know by now, Danny was sure of it.

“Good, we need to make contact with him _ASAP._ ”

“But how?”

“We’ll find a way. Danny, this changes everything. We need to stop those fuckers from getting their way, getting more people locked up in here.”

 “Greg.” Danny whispers and he sees the strangest reaction come from the man across from him. Years have passed since anyone has called him by his real name, always James ‘ _crazy jamie’_ Brown. He’d almost lost himself, the memories of his murdered family almost snuffed out off the face of the earth.

“Yeah Danny?”

“We are going to get the fuck out of this place, I promise.”

==

 “ _Never let me out of your sight,”_ Greg grunts.  From sun up to sun down, they’re inseparable; Danny never leaves Greg’s side.

At first, having someone come into such close proximity with such trust was offsetting after being alone for so long, but the two managed to strike up a bond.

On a Wednesday, Danny drops a dumbbell on his knee and Greg actually starts laughing. _Laughter._

‘ _It’s been so long since I’ve heard someone laugh.’_ Danny contemplates; he cracks a chuckle and reaches for the weight gingerly.

Saturday, Greg waits for him in line for breakfast and trades his apple for Danny’s biscuit knowing fully that 1) the biscuits had the taste and consistency of sawdust, and 2) apples are Danny’s favorite thing on the prison’s menu.

Two weeks later, Danny doesn’t know how but Greg’s grinning from his bunk holding a bottle of scotch and two paper cups.

“How the- how did you get that in here?!” Danny gasps, it’s the cheapest worst brand but Danny swears to his grave, it’s the best damn glass (cup) of scotch he’s ever tasted.

They’re both laughing, tipsy, warm after burns running down the back of their throats.

“Easy, easy, don’t take the whole bottle!” Greg grins taking a sip from his cup, “You don’t even wanna know how much it hurt the guys sneaking it up his ass to get it in here.”

Danny looks down at the bottle in his hand like it’s hot lava, throwing it out of his hand disgusted.

Greg lurches forward and grabs it out of the air, “WHOOOA! God damn! I was just kidding, it came in through the mail! _God dammit, Johnny! D’ya even know how many strings I had to pull to get this_?!”

They both stood there in silence. Greg’s never mentioned his little brother, not since that one day back at the library. They maulled over it in silence, quietly sipping cheap scotch in paper cups, almost reverently for the people the missed most.

Weeks fly by, as if uncounted, but one night after lights out, as they both enter that light drift between awake and asleep, Danny asks Greg what day it was. Greg mutters an answer, half annoyed he’s been woken up.

“Oh.” Danny says softly and turns over into his bed.

It is Grace’s birthday. He’s marked that specific hour, to the second, ten years ago when a 6 pound miracle smashed his perception of the world upside down turning his life around on a dime. To think that he- lonesome, miserable, and wretched he, could have produced someone so pure, so innocent, and so beautiful was still so inconceivable. The light of his life, the only thing he lives for, is turning eleven in one hour, two minutes, and 15 seconds.

“Danny?” Danny hears Greg sit up in worry, “You wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Danny says with as straight a voice he can.

“Hey,” Greg presses walking closer to Danny’s silent body, “Tell me what’s going on.”

“-nothing.” Danny tried to say it louder, but all that comes out is a whisper.

“You can tell me.”

Silence.

“Gracie.” Danny starts trying to force himself to force the tears to freeze, refusing to let them pass his tear ducts, “Gracie is turning eleven to-today.”

“….” Greg sits heavily back onto his bunk as silence robs the cell of all communication.

The words spill out in catharsis, “I promised back in the divorce, that I would always be there for her every birthday.” Danny points at dates on an invisible calendar, “No matter what the lawyers said, I would be there, _every_ year.” Danny sniffed the snot back into his nose, which Greg thought was hilarious.

“What, you think this is funny?” Danny huffs, random bangs hanging over his wretched face.

“You know what Jersey?” Greg chuckles softly in the dark, “You remind me so much of my baby brother, always tried to be so tough, get piercings, dying his pretty blond hair black (drove me crazy how he’d want to ruin the last reminder of ma),  but he was always a softy deep down, he loved way too much.”

Danny’s expression softens and he shakes off the tears trying to say something, but he’s still so choked up.

“He was a hot head just like you too,” Greg chuckles pointing at Danny across the dark cell.

Danny scrunches his face in retort and unbelief, Greg proves his point, “Yup, just what Johnny’d do.” He sighs, “He’d be your age. I think he’d either be your best friend,” He hums in contemplation, “Or you’d hate each other’s guts. It’s all the same with you hot heads.”

“Greg…”

“You know he was the first thing I thought of when they first dragged you in here? When you started off on me, I thought it was him come back from the dead.”

“But.” Danny grimaces, “But you don’t know for sure that he’s dead.”

“No I know he’s dead, Danny,” Greg lowers his tone, “I just felt it one day. Something just. Just cut off, like some sick puppeteer just decides to cut off a string and you just feel something on your body just fall limp to the ground. I know how these people do things, they don’t want loose ends.”

“But. You. Me. In here.”

“Please. They’re keeping us here to keep us quiet, and use us just in case something goes wrong.” Greg scowls.

Then it hits Danny, he’s not here “out of respect for all your loyal and patriotic service to our country”, he’s here to as a black mail in reserve; to mess with Steve when he finally says no.

“Danny?”

“Greg.”

“Yea?”

“We are going to get the fuck out of this place.”

“Some way or somehow.”

“We made a promise.” Danny remembers his words back in the library.

“Yeah, a promise.”


	3. Separated: Charred (Steve's Perspective)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 is split up into two perspectives, Steve's and Danny's. You can read them in whatever order you please.

A warm hand splaying across Steve’s well-defined chest stirs him awake.  His partner’s familiar voice rumbles deep and croaky from sleep, “Good morning princess.”

Sighing sweetly, Steve croons into the soft and warm smooches planting steadily down his spine, stubble tickling the broad expanse of his back.

Sunbeams from the window behind him soak the back of his head, bathing them both in welcomed warmth. Steve grips Danny’s hand. He is here. He is his. Closing his eyes again, Steve brings Danny’s hand to his face softly kissing it and presses it into his cheek to breathe him in.

Danny resurfaces from his decent down Steve’s long back sensing Steve’s somber mood, “What’s wrong babe?” He gently whispers behind Steve’s ear and leaves a  strong kiss on the soft skin hidden behind the earlobe.

Steve moans softly under Danny's touch, “Just a bad dream. A terrible dream. I love you Danny.” Danny wraps his arms around Steve’s waist and hugs hard, pressing his forehead deep between Steve’s shoulder blades. Steve clings to Danny’s arms, caressing the whirls of hair, “I’m never letting you go Danno. Never. I love you so mu-“

“Then why didn’t you say it when it mattered? Before they took my body away Steve?” Danny voice scratched.

Steve concernedly parts his eyes open, “Danny? Danny, something wrong?”

“Why didn’t you say that you loved before they took my body away?” Danny sobs, something hard and stiff was scratches hard between Steve’s shoulder blades.

“Danny! What are you talking about, your body!” Steve shouts worriedly, “You’re right here! See right here- OH MY GOD DANNY!” Steve screams when he takes a reassuring look down at Danny’s hand, finding it cracked apart and heavily charred; crusty blisters and burnt scabs making it unrecognizable.

“-let them take my body away-“ Danny continued sobbing, “-without ever saying-“

Steve tore his body around to face Danny almost throwing up in horror. Danny’s whole body was charred black and disintegrating like a burnt piece of wood. Danny covers his face in shame, hiding behind his festering hands afraid of Steve seeing him like this; his singed hair dangling on his devastated scalp.

Steve screams again, “DANNY!” but an earsplitting zipping sound engulfs his voice and Danny’s wailing. A gigantic body bag envelopes up and around the bed, sealing around them, strangling the sunlight into grave darkness. Steve kept screaming Danny’s name, Danny’s sharp and broken skin scratching his bare skin raw; Steve desperately wraps an arm around Danny’s body trying keep it from disintegrating away, while the other tried to rip their way out of their fabric tomb.

“DANNY!”

Steve’s shocked body shoots off the bed surrounded by darkness; his body is slick with in a cold sweat, the bed’s wet sheets cling to his heaving body like a straightjacket. Steve attempts to pry himself out but all the thrashing from his nightmare tangled him hopelessly. In despairing fury Steve tears them apart with brute force finding shallow solace as he hears the sheets rip apart. Once free, Steve looks desperately around for his partner, charred or whole, in pieces or intact, _anything_.

Steve balls up against the headboard realizing he is truly alon. A terrifying, crushing pressure in his chest screams for attention, for release. His body yearns for that sweet liberating relief of crying out, to scream out sobbing. Steve’s eyes bulge out their dark sockets, but not so much as a single tear slips out his tear ducts. Steve stares just straight through his laced fingers which cup his face. Cold unfeeling grips of guilt, sorrow, and unfulfilled longings continue to silently crush Steve’s insides.

 _‘Please. Just. Let go. Just let me.’_ Steve begs, rocking back and forth,

 _‘_ Cry.

 _Please- just this once.’_

He chokes coughing, but nothing else comes out. Since the death of his mother he has never been able to shed a single tear. A roaring frustration fills his ears, furious at his body’s refusal, it _ignorant_ inability, to mourn the loss of partner, his dearest friend.

Steve leaps off the bed in fury, grabbing whatever he could get his hands on and flings them across the room. Throwing a vase at the wall, he revels in the rush of adrenaline pumping in his veins, like a crude substitute in the place of grief. He pauses to watch vase shards crash in every direction before he lunges back into destroying his parent’s bedroom. He upturns the bed and throws the dresser into the closet. He grabs the portraits of his family off the walls and flings them to the walls opposite him. He pauses again once he reaches the more current framed pictures on the wall. The sharp taste of bile and disgust climbs up his tongue as he places a hand on the frame to his own portrait.

Stone faced in full naval uniform, Steve’s portrait stares emotionless back at him; He is handsomely embroidered with all the awards and titles of Lieutenant Commander. Disgusted by himself, he grabs the portrait and impales it through a lamp. He makes quick work of the portrait of him saluting to his admiral who is pinning a golden maple leaf to his shoulder. He threw the picture of him and Admiral Pepper shattering into the master bathroom. His rampage is frozen in front of the most recent photo, a small group picture of Five-0. All except Danny in islander attire, all arms on each other’s shoulders, all smiling at the camera. Danny’s hair was out of place for Steve had ruffled it seconds before for wearing a tie to a barbecue. Steve let out a throated grunt flinging his fist wildly at the picture. Glass tinkers on the floor and Steve grimaces feeling his knuckles erupt warm blood. If he couldn’t cry he was going to bleed.

Steve slides down back against the wall, cursing that he had ruined the only good picture of Danny and himself. Shifting through the splintered wood and shards of glass for the picture, he wipes the blood off quickly across a piece of torn bed sheet. Through the crumpled picture Steve saw himself grin goofily back at himself, Kono and Chin both had their sparkling white teeth and attractive smiles, Danny barely looks into the camera with an awkward transition between a pout and a grin. Steve traced a non-bloody finger around Danny’s strong jaw and then buried his face in between his knees.

He needed to see Danny, charred or whole, in pieces or intact, _anything_. Still clutching the crumpled photo, he eyelids slowly shut closed sending him into dark dreamless sleep.

 

He wakes up at noon feeling terrible and restless. After cleaning up both his wound and room, Steve gets into his truck. He makes his way up into the upscale part of town and turns into the avenue of gigantic mansion infested neighborhood of Danny’s ex-wife. Steve leaves his parked car and walks up to the voice module pressing the bell button at the front gate.

“Hello? Who’s there?” The usual sophistication in Rachel’s British voice is noticeably replaced raspy and choked.

“It’s Steve McGarrett. I have a favor to ask of you, it will only take a few minutes of your time and I was wondering if-“

The fence clicks and slide open, “Please. Please come in, I’ll put on some tea.”

Steve hears a distant scream through the speaker, “DANNO?!?!” Grace screams.

“No… No no honey, He’s… He’s not coming-“ and the voice clicks off.

As Steve enters the large foyer he's swiftly greeted by Rachel, who as usual, is flawless-every hair in place. Try as she might to appear calm, Steve keen eye catches slight red puffiness around the rims of her eyes.

“Please come into the sitting room, would you like cream or sugar?”

“Oh, neither is just fine.”

They sit on expensive furniture and sip tea under crushing silence.

After a deep inhalation Rachel starts, “Is there anything I can do for you for you Steve?”

“Oh, yes.” putting down his cup, “I.. I hope that this does not seem too forward especially so close to the death of your-“

“So this _does_ have to do with Daniel.”

Though she stares straight at Steve, her empty eyes seem to look right through him.

“I’m really sorry to bring this up, it must be painful already, but I was wondering if I could have permission to investigate Danny’s body.”

“Investigate,” Rachel stares into Steve’s eyes for real this time, “And what exactly do you plan on finding from your investigation?”

“I. I need to collect some samples, I have this theory.”

“No, you must be looking for something else.” Rachel’s red eyes wet around the edges.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, this is an important investigation about the-“

“He’s _dead_ Steve!” The whole house seems shocked at the sudden break of character. On the verge of breaking down Rachel collapses into her hands. Steve could tell that her cutting words were directed more to herself than at Steve.

“Please. It will not take more than a day, I swear! I would never bring this upon you if I did not think this was important!”

Rachel lifts up her head teary eyed. “Don’t you hide what you’re trying to do here.” Voice dark and possessive.

“What do you mean, I need to collect some samples of-“

“Stop.”

“I-“

“You think I’m a fool don’t you?”

“Of course not.” Steve answers quickly

“Yes you do. You should know that I can recognize the telltale signs, better than anyone else, of one in love with Daniel. You are looking for answers.”

Steve tries to say something in retaliation but words hit the back of his throat in a jumbled mess and all he can mutter is an, “But you. You didn’t.”

“Oh yes, I did. It was cruel really.” Her eyes piercing through her collecting tears, “Oh yes I loved him. I married him, took his name. I bore his child. I fell so deeply in love with the man Daniel Williams. You could say I loved him too much.”

“He loved you too.” Steve gritted, furious at Rachel’s inconsistent alibi, if she loved him why would ever break Danny’s heart?

“Yes. Yes he did. He loved me so dearly, and when Grace came into the world his heart opened ever further, but he did not _love_ me.

He could never fully reciprocate my love for him; he was supporting, loving, kind and gentle, yes, but it wasn't the same. I tried for so very hard to ignore all the signs, his longing stares, I- I just reached a point where I knew that he could never love me, a woman, in the same way I loved him.” Rachel’s eyes glittered with tears.

“Wait-“

“Oh _PLEASE_ Steven! For God sakes! You KNOW IT deep down!” Rachel shouted, her whole body shook losing all composure, shimmering tears falling off her face, “Don’t be as foolish as I was!”

“I. I don’t know what to say.”

“You can tell him yourself.” Rachel grabbed her purse and began rummaging through it, wiping her tears away to try and regain her composure, “I will call the funeral home and tell them that you may visit and examine his body.”

“Thank you Rachel. I am so sorry that I ever thought the worse of you.” Steve apologized sincerely.

“It's nothing, and I forgive you. Y-you are actually quite fortunate in coming today. You see we were going to have a wake for his funeral but we decided to have his remains cremated be-because of the state they found hi-” Rachel cut off into a fit of sobs. Steve knew all too well the nightmares Rachel was experiencing.

“Rachel, maybe I should come back another time.” Steve fretted.

“No- No. I won’t allow it. You need this; I will neither deny nor delay you this closure Steve.” She shook her head regaining focus, “Where did I put my phone? Bloody hell! It was surely in here. Damn it all, Gracie probably nicked _again_ when I answered the door.”

Just then the house phone rang, “Bloody- That’s probably the funeral house, they must have been calling the cellular for the last half hour!” Her pager gave a sharp buzz, “The florist, damn it all!”

Rachel was trying her best to stay intact, but being jerked in three different directions was too much for her fragile state and she collapsed again into her hands, exhausted.

“If you don’t mind, I can go get your phone from Grace,” Steve offers.

“Oh would you? It would help her so much if you were to go see her.” Rachel smiled,  
“Thank you Steve. All right I’m coming!” She stood up walking to the blaring phone. “She is upstairs, the last door on the left. ‘Yes this is Rachel, I am sorry, yes. Yes.’”

Leaving the sitting room, Steve walks back into the expansive foyer with its toweringly high ceiling. The whole house was quiet, empty, and unfeeling. He climbs the stairs as quietly as he can, refusing to break the mournful silence clinging to the house.

He reached the top of the stairs and his ears prick up at a familiar voice, his mind going a mile a minute trying to reason its way out of a wild rouge hope. He moved further down the hall and confirmed that he was indeed hearing the Danny’s deep scruffy voice, _he was alive!_

“God damnit Steve!”

Steve’s heart gives a leap at the mention of his name,

“Just drive like a normal person! Jesus! Shit it’s been recording! Ahem-This is Detective Danny Williams,”

Steve cracks Grace’s door open a smidgen as Danny’s voice continues, “Sorry I’m not here right now, please leave a message at the beep- EYES ON THE ROAD YOU FUC-*beep*” Steve’s heart crashes harder and twice as deep into his gut remembering that exact day Danny recorded his voice mail message.

“Danno. Please pick up! It’s me, monkey!” Grace’s innocent voice fills the hallway like a chiming bell, “Please pick up!”

Steve’s heart wrenches at Grace’s innocence; Her child’s mind unable to understand the gravity of Danny’s death.

“Mommy is c-crying Danno,

Please. If you found out that I hit T-tommy Sanders first, I promise I'm sorry! I promise to be good! I will listen to whatever you say- I’ll go to sleep early! No candy, nothing! _Please Danno,_ just come home!

……It’s not fair when I’m the only one who says 'I love you' without you saying it back. _Please_. Please c-come back h-home.” Grace starts to cry, “ _Please._ Please be _safe_ , come back home soon. I love you, Danno.” The voicemail beeps and the operator’s voice prompts further options.

Steve plasters the best fake smile he can onto his face and presses through the door, “Grace?”

“DANNO!?!” Grace screams turning to the door.

“No, I’m sorry it’s only m- oof!”

“STEVE!” Grace slams into Steve’s waist gripping it with all her might.

“Hello Grace.”

“Steve! You have to help! Danno is m-missing! He still ha-hasn’t answered!” Grace looks up with her wide wet eyes up at Steve pointing to the list of phone calls she'd made to Danny’s cell, “Please. _Please_ find him. He must be in trouble!”

“I-“

“Say you’ll  find him. PROMISE!” She shoved her head back into Steve’s waist.

Steve’s mind rests in silence for a long minute, “Okay Grace, I promise.”

“Thank you Steve.” Grace sobbed, “You can find him, I know it. He said you are the bravest, most per-spi-ca-cious person he has ever met, and I believe him!” Steve smiles down at Grace struggling through the vocabulary word light-years above her grade which Danny obviously filled her mind with.

“Now Grace, sweetie-” Steve grimaces when Danny's pet name for his daughter slips his lips and takes a conversational step backwards.

A short tug on his shirt brings him back from that dark hollow in his mind. “It’s okay Steve, as long as it’s not Monkey. Only Danno can say that.”

Steve looked down amazed at Grace’s sharp perception and wondered if she would follow her father’s steps and become a detective. “Thank you Grace.” and gives a goofy grin.

Grace giggles, “Danno was right, you are a softie deep down inside,” She stabs a small finger on his taught abdomen, "Did'jya want something?"

“Oh, do you think I can take your mommy’s phone back to her?” Grace nods and slips the proportionally large smart-phone her own father wouldn’t be able to understand into Steve’s  hand. “Thanks swee-“ And Steve unconsciously stops himself again.

“I told you, you can say it” Grace grins.

“Thanks sweetie.” Steve’s nervous smile broadens. He gives a hard squeeze around Grace and turns to the door. He feels Grace grab his hand and she pleads, “No, I want to come. Don’t go alone!”

Steve looks over his shoulder and sees his partner’s daughter cling to his hand for dear life. “Is there something I can do for you Gracie? Is something wrong? I can stay right here for you-“

“Not for me, for you.”

“For me?” Steve bends back down to her level.

“Your eyes.” Steve feels Grace’s small hands trace the sides of Steve's face, “When you smile, your eyes are still so sad, just like Danno's, lonely.” Taken a back, Steve amends his thought about her becoming a detective and agreed that in the future she would definitely surpass her own father’s deductive skills.

“Aw Gracie,” Steve scoops her up into a hug. “It’s ok I’m just going to return your mom’s phone-“

“With me!” Grace pushes Steve back gives him a serious gaze bringing back fierce memories of Danny giving him a similar soul stabbing stare.

“Yes.” Steve chuckles, “With you.” And closed his large palm around Grace’s tiny hand and walked down the hallway.

A promise now etched in his heart, he squeezes Grace’s hand and feels a hard squeeze back. Grace won him over; he adopted her childish refusal to accept Danny’s death. He would keep Danny alive for both of them, refusing all evidence contrary. Grace has given him the strength to face Danny’s corpse tomorrow with a burning courage, to find all that he could and right the wrongs.

=

The next day Steve paces manically back and forth in his office, biting each slow passing minute. He had an appointment with the funeral home right after work and he was burning a track onto his office’s wood floor in anticipation. He threw frantic looks through the glass over at Danny’s empty desk and bit back a hard grimace that his partner wasn’t there anymore and returns to his manic rounds along his room.

Chin knocks on his door, “He boss, something wrong? We’re done with all the paper work and the island seems like its planning to stay quiet. Kono got so bored she actually counted your steps and calculated that you’ve paced over into the kilometers in here.”

Steve gives a worried look over at Kono mouthing numbers silently at her desk, made eye contact shocked, and buries her head into her paper work.

“Kilometers?” Steve plops into his rolley-chair and sighs, “I’m going to the funeral house to visit-“ Steve stops himself, should he tell Chin? Should he tell anyone other than Grace what insanity he is up to?

“So you did get Rachel to sign off on it. They wouldn’t let Kono or me near his body.” Chin’s eyes narrowed, “You noticed something wrong too.”

Steve sat back straight and looked at Chin dead in the eyes, “Noticed something wrong.”

“C’mon boss, his whole body was charred black, bones brittle, and yet he still has hair to be DNA tested? His dental identification came in literally seconds after he got in the morgue. Put it together boss, you need to have a clear mind for this.”

“It did come in a little _too_ fast.” More and more possibilities dawn in Steve’s mind, “The alcohol,”

“That was my first clue. We both know Danny would _never_ drive drunk.”

“No. He would just… crash at my place,” Steve recalls, “I’m going early.”

“We’ll close for you.”

“Thanks.”

He rushes past Kono’s desk, her head rapidly following Steve’s footsteps dotting up and down with each foot fall and silently continues counting,

“Oh will you quit it?!” Steve screams from the door.

“Just won twenty bucks thank you very much, TWO KILOMETERS CUZ!” Kono smiled triumphantly, “Tell us EVERYTHING you find, AND DON’T COME BACK TILL YOU DO!” shouting back at Steve.

=

“Sorry ‘bout this Danno,” Steve whispers to his partner’s dead corpse before he abruptly pulling his pliers out of the burnt corpse’s mouth causing an audible _crack_.

“Huh.” Steve grunts, his suspicions slowly cementing in his mind. Sliding his finger on his iphone, he calls Chin, “Hey, it’s McGarret. Did you get the picture of the right incisor?”

“Yes. It’s Danny’s alright, but that’s not why you called was it?”

“Just wondering why when Danny’s supposedly drunk off his ass (off Ballentines which I might add is the only brand of scotch he won’t drink) he would want to replace his perfectly funtional teeth with acrylic ones.”

“So they’re fake. Perfectly molded copies of his original teeth….”

“I looked closer at his scalp and found something interesting. It’s been shaved. It was hard to find a clear spot, still blond but shaved. Not only does Danny care more about his hair than a woman, him shaving it in the car seems more than suspicious. The hair samples that were DNA referenced were stated still attached, but at Danny’s normal hair length. I am bringing this hair over to Max to try to find who this really is.”

“So we are definitely confirming the possibility that this is not Danny,” Chin’s voice deadly serious.

“I- I don’t know. We need to get this sample to the lab to confirm it. I’m just going on a hunch right now.” Steve tries not to make the mistake of letting his emotions get the better of him.

“Yea that Danny just happened to be driving drunk at dangerous speeds, shaved his hair, and replaced all his teeth with a perfectly duplicated acrylic set.” Kono chuckles,

“Bring two samples from different parts of the scalp, as easy a conclusion we are leading to, this is not something we want even a 1% chance of getting wrong, this is Danny we’re talking about here.”

“Yea. I will call you two with the results.”

=

Max’s glasses reflected the computer screen as it madly fiddled with random figures and databases, “Interesting. The subject’s DNA is not registering with known databases.”

“But it isn’t Dan- I mean Detective Williams’ DNA?”

“No, neither sample you have brought me matches Detective Williams’, as you call ‘Danno’s, DNA.”

An enormous weight lifted off of Steve’s shoulders and he heaved a sigh of relief.

“So. Steven, ‘buddy’” Max attempts casualness and slides in his chair up over to the desk Steve was leaning against, “Exactly when was the first time you had coitus with Detective Williams?”

Steve’s grip on the table slips and he teeters momentarily in utter shock, “What!? Me and Danny have never done anything remotely sexual, in any way!”

“This is unfortunate.”

“Wah?!”

“I have never had to doubt my deductive reasoning, but once again the enigma of social interaction is my down fall. Please be sure to give this to Detective Kalakaua.” And Max hands him a twenty dollar bill.

“She has a gambling problem.” Steve grudgingly takes the obscenely pristine and crisp bill from Max and shoves it into his pocket.

Cringing at his perfect creaseless dollar ruined, Max quips, “It is not a problem when she keeps winning. Last week she bet that you an-“

“Can I have the DNA results of the hair samples?” Steve interjected.

“We have already concluded that it was not from Detective Williams.”

“But I need to find out who this person is.”

“But my databases.”

“You don’t have the data bases I do,” Steve grins. Taking the folder out of Max’s hands out the door he thanks the awkward lab rat, “Thanks for all your help, Max.”

“It was no problem… ‘dude.’” And jerks his hand up to wave still trying to imitate casualness in vain.

“You should get out more Max…”

And as if deeply offended, Max dropped his hand seething, “ _Never._ Good evening lieutenant.” And slams the lab door.

Steve sped home, _‘Danny is alive’_ Steve’s pulse was pounding in his eardrums. He strides across the kitchen straight to the computer room. Before signing in, something registers in his mind and he back tracks again to the kitchen to promptly greet Catherine, “Hello Cat.”

“Thought you really didn’t see me for a second.” She grinned going in for a kiss.

Steve backs up out of reach and whispers, “I’m really sorry but I am really preoccupied right now. How the hell did you get in here?”

“Your partner always told you to install a good security system.”

“I did install a freaking-“

“He said _good_.” She giggled, “You should really listen to Danny.”

“Danny… Danny’s dead.”

“Oh.” Catherine feigned fake shock like a pro, “Oh, oh my God Steve, you’re serious. I’m so sorry, sorry I ever mentioned. Shit- I guess that’s why you don’t want to- shit this is a bad time. Yea, I should go,”

“No Cat, it’s fine. You came all the way over here, do you want something to drink?”

“No, no. It’s really stupid. There was an envelope that came through our office for you from higher up and I volunteered to bring it over to you to ‘catch up.’” She air quoted, “I should go. I’m being selfish, you need time for yourself.”

She left the envelope on the desk and turned on her heels to the door.

‘ _Oh what the hell, I do need some me time.”_ Steve attempts to grab her arm when he feels his phone vibrate. He glances over the text and stops his mouth halfway telling Cat to stay when he sees the text’s header  from Chin, “Do not trust Cat. Call back ASAP.”

“You say something Stevo?” Cat faces Steve eyes hopeful.

“Um. Uh-“

Cat senses something wrong and for a flash her eyes get dark, Steve wonders if he was just seeing things but a millisecond later she’s back to bubbly-as-fuck.

“I could drop you off where ever you’re staying; you don’t need to get a cab.”

“Such a gentleman, but I think you’ve got enough on your plate,” She giggled and turns back on her way to the door, rolling her eyes in disgust. Her mission was just to _fuck_ him, she assured herself, Pepper never directly ordered her to hold his hand or coddle the man.

When Steve sees Catherine’s cab leave the driveway, Steve speed dials Chin while slipping in the DNA cd into his computer, “What exactly are you trying to say Chin? Do you mind explaining why I have to question my friend, whom I might add, I’ve known since academy?”

“I know, I know. It’s just a hunch I’m sorry, but I kept getting this feeling.”

“A feeling.” Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. Too many stresses in too many directions.

Chin’s voice scratches over the phone, “I started to dig a little once we established that Danny could have been kidnapped. I tracked the last location of his cellphone before it died off the grid. I located it and it’s been chucked over an overpass next to a private airport on the south part of the island.”

“Why would Danny throw his phone out the window?”

“He wouldn’t. Though the man barely understood how a touch screen phone works,” Chin loved everything touch screen, “nut even he knew that his five-0 grade phone was a precious thing to waste.”

Steve’s mind wanders to the first few weeks Danny-the-luddite-Williams struggled with the top brand phones Steve had gotten the team. ‘ _Turn the phone on its side, the keys get bigger.’_ Steve bites back the slew of memories of when they just started getting to know eachother.

“Or he could have left it there for us to find.” Steve interjected softly.

“Either way, I downloaded all the traffic surveillance footage from the last time Danny was seen to the time of the accident.

“Did you find anything?”

“I had no idea where to start, there’s literally a week of footage, but when Catherine called the office wondering where you wer-.”

“And what about Catherine.” Steve grunted, Steve only had only a hand full of friends and he was worse than a mother hen when it came to them.

“Well. I mean I don’t know. She’s been hanging around for quite a while, and you know everyone is a suspect. Her arrival on the island what right in the window, I had to check.”

“She is off the tabl-“

“Steve. I found something you might not want to hear.”

Steve’s palms started sweating, “What. What exactly did you find?”

“Steve. Are you sure you want to know?”

Steve was so sure. Sure that at least Cat, his academy graduate-mate, close friend with benefits, would never. Never-ever have anything to do with Danny’s disappearance. His mouth starting to dry he mutters, “Tell me.”

“I looked up the plate of her rental and ran it through the database, and it clocked her over the same over pass as Danny’s phone.”

This still didn’t prove anything Steve reassures himself, “So? It’s a popular over pass.”

“I looked through the traffic cameras for that afternoon and… here I’ll send you the footage.”

Steve felt his phone vibrate and he opened the video clip. The video showed a slowed dawn enhanced clip of an attractive young woman rolling down the window and throwing what appeared to be a cellphone over the overpass in a large, black van.

“Steve? You still there?”

Lips parted in shock Steve could barely form the words, “Yea. Yea that’s Cat.”

“Steve, you alright?”

“….Yea.”

“Do you know of any reason why she would have Danny’s cell?”

“No. Or why she’d need to rent a van that could fit a whole circus in the back.”

“Steve. Do you think-“

“Yea. Listen, Chin, I have to go. I think I know where to start looking to ID our John Doe.”

“Steve, you sure you’re ok?”

Shakily he answers, “Yea… I. I really need to go check this lead. Thanks Chin, good work. Dig deeper, and find out more about what the hell is going on. I’ll tell you more about our John Doe if I get anywhere.”

Steve mauls over into his palm. Cat. Catherine. Catherine Rollins. They’ve been pseudo dating for years. What the _fuck_ was going on? Steve opened the cd on the computer and doubles his efforts to find the identification of Danny’s substitute corpse. There’s still a chance, despite having his world flipped upside down yet again, that Danny was alive.

Steve entered his clearance code into his CIA/USN knowledge database. He ran the DNA sequence through every database and came up with nothing. He ran it through the criminal database, even the officers and recruits, but still nothing.

‘ _There must be something I am missing.’_ Steve thought furiously, and something clicks in his mind. Maybe he came up with nothing because that’s exactly what he was meant to find, somebody was hiding something. With Catherine now in suspicion this brought a whole new slew of perspectives on this whole situation. If Catherine had anything to do with any of these things, he was sure that would have caught a snag in his CIA/USN database. With her betrayal she brought the whole USN under question; if this was a USN database there was a great big possibility that the USN itself could be trying to hide certain information.

He needs to find what someone who can find what is meant to be unfindable. He needed someone who could do better than whoever in the USN was hiding things. He needs a hacker. Danny’s smug voice rings in his mind, ‘ _I know a guy_.’ Steve smiles, Danny never ceased to amaze him. Even though he was mainlander-tie-wearing-as-fuck, he still walked his beat and _knew a guy_. Adam ‘Toast’ Charles.

 

Steve’s perception of time is as follows: time keeps up with him, he sets the pace. So to Steve, barraging through the jungle in the middle of the night with a tank of a truck, that’s fucking normal just because he says  so. Adam Charles is in for the worst trips of his life, even though he is smoking up 96% oregano.

“Waoo, Army man- dya know what time it is?” Toast stutters half lidded waving for his groupies to run for the hills.

Steve is truly intimidating. His tall broad silhouette towers over the quaking ring stoners as his truck’s high beams blast over his powerful shoulders. “Navy.” He gruffly corrects, anyone other than Danny mistaking the two is more an insult than an endearment, “Everyone out now, I’m not here to bust you… yet.”

At his last words all the heavy lidded bloodshot pot heads scramble up and out, bumping into each other in hallucinated terror.

Adam scrambles up trying to regain some sort of composure while his heart almost visibly thumps up against his chest, “Hey man- it- I swear- holding it for a- Look man, where’s Danny. He- he can explain.”

“Detective Williams” Steve lazer eyes, “Is dead.”

“What?! That guy is unkillable!” Adam says stupidly.

“I’d like to think so too. I believe he’s missing. I need your help.”

“Dude, that man has saved my ass in so many different ways, I’d do anything. I can find him-just, please don’t kill me.”

Steve grins sinisterly, _he’s still got it,_ “That can be arranged. But I don’t need you to find Danny just yet, I need you to find out who _this_ is.” And chucks the DNA file into Adam’s lap.

“Promise, no killing me?”

“Promise.”

Shakily, he runs the CD into his custom built laptop and his eyes whir over different windows.

“Did my standard CIA sweep, nothing.”

“I’m not here for you to do what I could have done,”

“Pushy pushy. You still think this person would be in here?”

“Yes. Very strongly.” And unconsciously puts a hand to his hip above his holster.

“Yes… So do I. So you think someone is hiding our little friend?” Toast grins he loves a challenge, “Well… let’s see what how strong the walls our tax dollars put up are, shall we?”

Fingers blur as he gleefully hums, cracking away deeper into the database for a match. His computer beeps and the window crashes, “Shit!”

“What happened, what’s wrong?”

“Been force closed, my standard tools aren’t good enough. This is definitely off regulation and off the grid. Your little buddy definitely is in here, but someone really really _really_ doesn’t want him to be found.”

“But you can find him,” Steve worries.

“For Danny Williams, I could get you this guy’s latest porn subscriptions.” He cracks a grin and even though Steve gives a small chuckle, he goes straight faced again in fright at Steve’s low rumbling voice.

After 15 minutes of code crunching , Adam’s computer lets out a happy ping and Steve perks up off the post he has been leaning cross armed against.

“John Woodal. Age 30, Male, Caucasian, 5’9”, missing.”

“What else.” Steve utters.

“That’s it. But you gotta look through the cracks brah.”

“ _Illuminate_.”

“That’s all his file says, but if you look at all the hoops and ladders I had to get through to find him, we can learn a little bit more than his ASL.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I had to hack through the Navy high security clearance levels, slip through a CIA cover up file, and then back to a high level naval group. Admiral rank at the least.”

“US Navy.” Steve pauses.

“Unmistakably Navy.” Toast assures.

“Can I get a copy of this?” Steve points a blunt finger at the screen of Woodal.

“Sure.” He clicks three buttons and his computer whirs then Steve feels his phone vibrate.

“You have my number?” Steve is impressed.

“I have _everybody’s_ number.” And gives a grin as he smashes the DNA cd between his fingers getting rid of all the evidence, “You are lucky that I think Danny is such a cool guy, you do _not_ want me all up in your business.”

“Hmm. Thanks again. Dude, lay off the crap, makes you all bug eyed. A mind’s a terrible thing to waste.”

“You are worse than your partner.” Adam rolls his eyes and takes another hit of oregano from his bong waving Steve out of the lanai.

==

“James Woodal. 30. CIA informant.” Chin slides a criminal picture up off the table to be projected on the large screen monitors on the wall.

“CIA…” Steve contemplates. The CIA cover file. He has still yet to open the envelope Catherine had given him, its weight sinks harder into his hands as if cutting them.

“Boss. Maybe we should just open it.”

“They can’t be trusted Kono.” Chin warns.

“No, but if we keep the charade that Steve still trusts them fully-“

“We might find Danny.” Steve finishes her thought. He rips open the embossed envelope and skims the message. “It’s a mission. Special ops, top secret.”

Kono raises her voice curiously, ”Well, don’t just keep us in the dark-“

“Kono,” Chin warns seriously.

“What?” She questions her cousin at the sudden seriousness, “We’re a team, we need to know everything the other-“

“If he breaks the code of secrecy, he will lose his rank, be dishonorably discharged, might even be charged with treason.” Chin says grimly.

Steve stares gravely down in the thin piece of cardstock in his hands and breaks the silence, “Kono is right, we are a team. We share everything, more over we are family. Danny would do the same for me, for all of us. He’d risk it all if there was even a slight chance that we could still be alive.”

“Steve you don’t have to.” Kono apologizes.

“No.” Steve had already decided, the moment he held Grace’s hand, the moment he made that promise staring into those fierce eyes, Danny’s electric blue eyes; he knew he would risk everything he had, everything he’d worked for to find him, “My mission is to infiltrate a North Korean terrorist threat on the mainland, DC.”

“Boss.” Kono taken aback at Steve’s quick decision to throw everything away to find his partner.

“Steve, what do you want us to do?” Chin is all business and already formulating strategies.

“Set up surveillance on the perimeter of the meeting ground, sneak around looking for anyone who could be hiding, use thermals, use everything but do not be seen. Be invisible, I want them to be sure no one is watching them.”

“You want to have a feed on you?” Chin questions.

“No. I’m sure they’d sense it and know what is going on.”

“Steve, you really think that I haven’t thought of that? Fixing cars maybe your hobby, but mine just happens to be gadgets.” He grins.

Kono adds, “Yea, despite the racial stereotype cuz is enforcing, he has some mad sick stuff he’s been working on, better than what he calls the crud we use here.”

Steve runs his fingers through his head with an exhausted smile, he’d spared no expense for their equipment and technology and the fact that Chin had things that would make them _crud_ , made him extra thankful to the powers at be for landing him with such an incredible team.

Kono slaps a hand on Steve’s shoulder and laughs, “I’ve got a connection or two in the underground that can get you whatever sick ass weapons we might need. I hear they even have _jetpacks_.”

Steve feels a grin crawl from one end of his face to the other beaming at his team. ‘ _Hold on Danny, we’re gonna find you.'_

==

“Jasmine or Earl Grey?”

“Um, jasmine. Thanks Gracie.” Steve is always surprised at the sophistication of Grace Williams as she delicately pours piping hot tea from her fully functioning china tea set, “Shouldn’t you be playing with your friends Grace? It is you birthday after all.”

“I’ll return to my peers mom-en-ta-rily.” Grace put on a serious face as she chewed over another one of those vocabulary words years above a ten year old’s, “We have business.”

Steve cracks a grin and takes a small sip from his tea cup dwarfed in his large hands, at this point not surprised that the quality of the tea is top of the line. “Business?” he asks curiously.

With her fair and refined features from her mother and ferocious Jersey blood from her father, when Little Gracie meant business even lawyers had nothing on her.

“We had a promise, Steve.” Every time Graces flashes her fierce eyes, Steve’s heart gives a little flutter immediately reminded of Danny’s similar electric stare.

“Oh. Yes we do, don’t we.”

“Anything new?” Her serious tone pressed memories of Danny harder and harder into the void in his chest.

“I have a solid lead.”

“Good.” She lets a relieved giggle slip past her serious composure as she cracks a cookie in half and places a half on Steve’s saucer.

“Gingersnaps, my-“

“Your favorite,” Grace beamed, “Danno said you didn’t like overly sweet things and I always thought you were a spicy-food kind of guy.”

“I sure am.” Steve beamed back at the intelligent little girl sitting across from him.

“Good, because Danno hates trying new things you can expand his pallet.” Grace turns her head and faces her screaming friends to come over to the beach to play.

“I think your social life is calling Miss Williams.”

“That’s Miss Sweetie to you,” Grace stands up and pounces a hug around Steve’s tall frame, “I can’t say thank you enough Steve. You’re the best, no wonder Daddy trusted you so much.” And Steve hears a sharp sniff and frets that Danny would kill him for making his daughter cry on her birthday.

“You ok munchkin?” Steve looks down his chest at the neat ponytailed head shivering slightly in his arms.

Grace unburied he head out of Steve’s midriff and started emitting sunbeams with that million dollar Williams smirk, “Always when you’re around. Find him or you’ll answer to me!” and she gave the hardest squeeze around Steve as her tiny body could.

“Careful, you’ll break my ribs there half-pint,” Steve chuckles.

“Can’t have that, that’s Daddy’s job!” The pealing screams coming from the beach begging for the birthday girl approached overwhelming levels, “All right! Coming!”

Steve released Grace and let her bolt to the beach pigtails flying.

“Just another man I have to share her with.” Steve hears a cool British voice sigh behind him. Rachel glides down the deck stairs with a tray of lemonade. “You have no idea the worlds of help you are doing for her by coming here today. We both probably have no idea how busy you must be, thank you so much Steven for coming, it just means so much.

“No, think nothing of it. I’m glad I can be here, thanks for inviting me,” Steve offers a hand, ”Here let me take those for you.”

“Oh please, men always think we’re always so helpless. You should know that Grace can out wrestle all the boys in her year, and despite what you think she gets that spunk from me, not her father. I think I can handle this terrifyingly tray of lemonade, Lieutenant.”

Steve grins at the obvious attitude Danny rubbed off on her and accepted a glass of lemonade sitting back down across Rachel. “So you’re absolutely _sure._ Completely, without a doubt that that wasn’t Danny.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“You really are something Lt. Commander.” She sighs.

“I like to think so.” He chuckles sipping the pink liquid and coughs when he tastes a little alcohol in the mix.

“Oh… forgot to tell you, _surprise._ ” Rachel grins. She lets out a long held and desperate sigh of relief, “You have no idea what that means for us. Thank you _so much_ Steven. You-“ She chokes a little and quickly takes a sip of her dirty lemonade to try to hide it.

“We will find him. I swear it.”

“So you really think he could still be alive.”

“Just as much as you and your daughter.”

With a bittersweet smile she raises a glass and clinks it with Steve’s, “Here’s to Danny.”

“-Danny.”

==

“Steve, can you hear me?” Chin’s voice scratched for a moment before clearing up through the impossibly thin flesh colored speaker, more like a sticker, adhered to the inside of his ear.

“Loud and clear. You’ve really out done yourself Chin,” as Steve rubs the similarly inconspicuous mic patch stuck to the base of his throat.

“You’re quite welcome,” Chin chuckles over the airwaves, “Remember right when you get out, They’ll have eyes on you.”

“Roger that.”

Steve places the newspaper he’s been reading on the café table and walks across five blocks down town to the abandoned warehouse he was instructed to infiltrate.

Chin breaks the silence in Steve’s head, “Got thermals on the delegates inside, but a two unknown people upstairs on the second floor of the adjacent building.”

“Is it them?”

“Getting audio, yes. It’s them. Approach the main warehouse and proceed with the mission to avoid suspicion, and make up the main staircase on the left to reach and take the fire escape to get to the other building.”

“Roger.” Steve grunts, “Chin, I have visuals on the C-4 on the wall, there are four in view.”

“Shit, must’ave put them in case things don’t turn out right. They  must be navy grade, in order to disarm them-“

“I got it.” Steve flipped off the familiar switches and deactivates the four bombs around the warehouse’s perimeter.

‘…. _This will bring peace for the decades to come….’_

Steve catches glimpses of the delegates hashing plans out till they disappear completely out of his audial range as he climbs away up the fire escape.

“Movement in the second room, careful.” Chin warns.

Steve crouches and freezes. He presses his ears and catches a heated argument, “Then why else would he fucking would he disarm them!?” He hears the admiral’s gruff voice at the top of his lungs.

“You’re insane, you’ll kill us all!” Shrieks Catharine’s voice muffled through the walls. Steve hears rustlings and furniture being overturned.

“We’ve been COMPROMISED!”

“Stop! You’ll kill us-!” She chokes and Steve hears another crash.

“…Fucking PATRIOTS! You cowering little bitch!” another crash and then Admiral Peppers is the one who yells, “You fucking stab an admiral, Rollins?!”

“No, Stop! You’re crazy- huak”

Steve kicks down the door flinging the machine gun clinging over his shoulder into his arms and booms, “FREEZE!”

Catherine’s body writhes, jerking up and down, hair everywhere some sticking into her gasping mouth as she scratches, kicks, and pounds away at Pepper’s body choking her. She flails off the ground one last time and with a last glance pleads with her eyes up at Steve till the life dulls out and her head goes limp.

Pepper stands gruffly up and wipes the blood off the side of his mouth with the back of his hand and pulls the dagger out of his leg. He straightens up and faces Steve with a dead cold stare.

“Where is he.” Steve demands.

 Before Steve can land a shot, Pepper throws off his jacket revealing the bomb strapped to his chest and pushes a button and red LED numbers flash in a countdown.

“Too late Lt. Commander.” He chuckles manically.

“ARRRRHHHH!” Steve charges and body checks Peppers into the ground, smashing his face, fists blurs of motion, “Where are you keeping him!?!?” He grabs Pepper’s collar and slams him hard against the floor eyes darting back and forth between the red flashing numbers and Pepper’s cold green eyes.

“Novice arch enemy’s mistake, Lt. Commander.” He grins and tries to bite his tongue off.

Sensing this Steve shoves his fingers into the Admiral’s mouth, “You coward, taking your own life?!” Before he can react, Peppers uses his now freed arm and points his pistol to his own head and fires.

“BASTARD!!! TELL ME WHERE HE IS!!!!” Steve thrashes Pepper’s shoulders around as the life fades out of his eyes.

“STEVE! What is GOING ON!!” Chin shouts

“Bomb strapped to his chest. How do I deactivate it?!” Steve screams, blood thumping in his skull as he runs his hands up and down the bomb.

“What model?!”

“Navy, black ops-2011, 355-2A.”

“Okay, open the lower housing, hurry.”

“Done, what now?”

“Strip the fourth and sixth wires, but DON’T cut them!”

“Done.”

“Now carefully cross them so they touch for three seconds.”

Steve’s feels sweat drip off his nose and focuses all his mind to keep his fingers from fumbling and does as he is dictated. The countdown reached the 20’s.

“20 and counting.” Steve grunts.

“Shit. Now cut the third from the right and hold down the button he used to activate it!”

Heart jumping out of his throat he clipped the wire and smashed his thumb into pale white circle holding his breath. 6, 5, 4 , 3 – click.

Steve let out a breath of relief but almost jumped at Chin’s next warning, “Don’t let go of the button!”

Steve’s thumb twitched almost slipping from the slick sweat, but remained planted on the circle.

“I’m coming in to kill the bomb, do _not_ let go, it will keep going if you release!” Chin flew out of the van parked blocks away and in a few minutes bursts through the door with Kono on his back and opened his tool box.

After unscrewing and disassembling the bomb piece by piece Chin wiped the sweat off of his dripping forehead and sighed, “Steve, you can let go now.”

Steve’s tense shoulders release and he lets go of the button and with an audible click.

Kono kneels down examining the scattered evidence all around the room and asks, “Where are they keeping him?”

Steve grinds his teeth, “Bastard killed himself before I could get more out of him.”

Chin clasped a hand square on Steve’s right shoulder, “Don’t worry we’ll find him,” Chin picks up random files scattered round the floor skimming the headings before grabbing another one.

“Yea.” Steve said with determination opening the drawers along the wall, “We’re coming Danno.”

 


End file.
